Silence
by To Seek The Truth
Summary: On their way to the Black Order, Lavi & Bookman are charged with the care of a mysterious young girl. No one knows who she is, but everyone seems interested in her. Can Lavi help her find out who she REALLY is before its too late? LavixOC - Complete!
1. A Stranger

Note: This is rated **M** for **language** and **gore**!

**Silence  
****D Gray Man  
****A Stranger**

Lavi leaned against the window, utterly bored. He was traveling with old Bookman to the Black Order. They were going to join the fight with the Exorcists and for the first time he'd appear in the history books with his new name. They were going to take the underground waterway in, but first they had to get there. He carefully touched his Innocence; it was in the shape of a hammer. He enjoyed using it already although he wasn't trained heavily in. Suddenly the carriage that they were in jolted to a stop.

Bookman stood, giving Lavi a look to be silent and stay still. He opened the door and they saw the Finder that had been driving it had gotten off and was now talking to a woman. In an instant Lavi took in the littlest details about the woman's appearance.

She was tall, she had short red hair cut around her face, although it was a lighter red then his own, duller as well. Her eyes were a bright blue and her skin was pale. She was dressed as an Exorcist, her body covered in black cloth that looked out of date. Her hands, her feet, everything up to her neck was covered with the black cloth. She was smiling and talking to the Finder easily. The Finder seemed to sense he was being watched and he quickly turned to look at Lavi and Bookman.

"Oh, sorry. I saw Rebecca and I know her from the Order…she disappeared years ago." The woman named Rebecca smiled easily at the Bookman in training and his mentor.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to stop your ride, but I'm trying to get back to the Order too. Quickly as I can too. I have to get someone to the Order right away."

"You're protecting someone?" asked Lavi, earning a glare from Bookman. He clearly didn't want to get involved.

"Yes…my daughter." She made a strange clicking noise and then a girl quickly darted out from behind a rock. She was wearing a red dress that went well with her black hair and tan skin. A red ribbon, that matched the dress, went around her forehead holding back the midnight tresses. Lavi also noticed she was bare foot. She had a nervous stance, like she didn't want to be there. Not to forget her eyes were different colors.

Her left eye was a bright blue, the same shade as her mother's and her right eye was a golden-amber color. She seemed shy and stood half behind her mother, yet of course it, obviously, didn't stop Lavi from observing her.

"Would you like to ride with us?" Bookman's question startled Lavi. Why did he want them to ride along? Was Bookman just being kind or was there something else…?

Either way when Bookman moved so that Rebecca and the girl could climb into the carriage. They climbed in and sat across from Lavi and Bookman. Rebecca bit her lip and looked at the girl; she was looking at her lap, her lips pressed together.

"It's been a long time Rebecca" Bookman said. The girl and Lavi both looked at him. Their eyes were surprised. Bookman ignored them both. "Almost sixteen years to be exact…I suppose this is your Verinty you spoke so fondly about." He looked at the girl, her dual-colored eyes still surprised.

"Yes, this is my Verinty" Rebecca put her arm around the girl, Verinty, and hugged her close. She was stiff in her mother's arms. "Her father is dead now, she barely ever knew him because I had to keep her away. If the Earl ever laid eyes on her…" Now Rebecca was stroking Verinty's long dark hair. "She looks like them doesn't she?"

"If she would have two golden eyes…" Bookman shook his head.

"I worry about her, about everything" Lavi saw how sad Rebecca looked, how close to crying she was as she held her daughter. Lavi didn't know what they were talking about, but figured the old Panda would just tell him later.

"So who is her father anyway?" he interrupted.

"You have no matter in this at the moment Lavi" snapped Bookman. Lavi just rolled his eyes and looked at Verinty again. He wondered where she had gotten her name and what it actually meant.

"Actually…" Rebecca's voice penetrated the silence, and it sounded nervous. "I was wondering if you'd make a stop with me before we go to the Order, Bookman."

"What about Verinty and Lavi?"

"Let them go to the Order themselves, Komui will take care of them" Rebecca sighed. "I really need your help with this before I go back. Please, Bookman." She looked desperate. Verinty looked at her mother, looking worried.

"I'll take care of her!" Lavi inputted, smiling brightly. "I'll take care of her until the two of you come join us at the Order!" Rebecca looked at him for a moment and then smiled.

"Thank ever so much!" She really did look like she was going to cry. "But I must warn you about-"

"Don't worry about this pup, he can take care of himself and your daughter" Lavi was surprised that Bookman had so much faith in him, seeing as he was only sixteen years old. The girl looked about sixteen too. He remembered that Bookman had said he hadn't see Rebecca in close to sixteen years…Why had Rebecca hid while caring for her child? It surely had to be hard if she were an Exorcist, like he suspected.

"My name is Lavi by the way" he said, holding out a hand to shake hers. She didn't take it.

She looked away "I'm leaving Verinty in your care Lavi. She doesn't speak much so I don't expect she'll be any trouble. This will be good enough, Bookman." She banged on the wall dividing her and the driver three times.

They all felt the carriage stop again and Rebecca and Bookman stepped out. Before Bookman did he looked at Lavi with one of his strict looks. "She's a very important girl Lavi, very rare. Make sure no one hurts her."

"Okay. You are going to tell me everything later, aren't you Panda?" the carriage jolted into movement again, even though Lavi was half hanging out the window. "Aren't you?" he called out. He didn't answer though. Lavi sighed, pulling the door shut and sitting back down, across from Verinty. She looked unsure and a little scared even.

"Hey, it'll be alright!" he said, grinning at her. She looked even more worried. He wondered why she hadn't even spoken yet. "Are you a mute?" he asked her. She shook her head and he wondered if she were kidding or not. The rest of the ride was silent, which almost bothered Lavi.

_**At the Order's Secret Waterway**_

They had arrived at the entrance to the Order. The ride down the waterway was long and even a little bumpy. Verinty had sat there, dual-colored eyes wide with fear most of the time. She had gripped the side of the boat with one hand so hard that the veins stood out on the back of her hand. Lavi had helped her out of the boat and since then she had stayed close to him.

They walked along with a few men dressed up in strange outfits. They looked really odd but Lavi didn't care. He figured he wouldn't be that long anyway. He was just an observer after all. Maybe he was sixteen years old, but he was trained through and through to smile, act happy and learn what he needed to, even if he betrayed people he pretended to be close to.

Finally, as they overlooked what appeared to be a funeral, the chief of the Science Department greeted them. He was holding papers in one hand as he walked toward them. Lavi gazed down on the scene below them. It was a funeral that was for sure. Hundreds of coffins were lined up in neat rows.

_These people just lost a huge battle_ he thought to himself. He gazed at Verinty and she was watching the funeral, the people crying, wounded pounding on caskets and others that were wounded being escorted away, with what seemed to be empty eyes. She turned those eyes to look at the chief.

"Hello, my name is Komui Lee, are you the Bookman?" he asked, holding his hand out to Lavi.

"No, he will be along shortly" Lavi answered, shaking his hand and smiling lightly.

"Is she with the Bookmen?" asked Komui, gazing at Verinty. Lavi hadn't seen her move closer to him; he had been focusing on the funeral. She was closer than she had been the whole trip. Lavi was about to answer Komui, to tell him that she wasn't with the Bookman and he didn't know exactly who she really was.

"I am not" her voice shocked him because despite her shaking her head at the idea, he had begun to believe she was completely mute. "I am the daughter of Rebecca Whispers. My name is Verinty Whispers."

"Rebecca Whispers?" he seemed shocked. Komui's eyes glanced to Lavi, he saw them, as if Lavi might have a relationship with the girl or her mother. "Is your mother coming back?"

"No"

The answer shocked Lavi. Why was Bookman going with Rebecca if she wouldn't be coming back? Just then another man came walking up to the small group, Bookman following. The man waved to Komui and hurried away.

"I am sorry for being late. Duty called." He held his hand out to Komui. "I am Bookman" His face was almost grim. "This pup here is Lavi and the girl is Verinty, but from the look in your eye, I believe you already know that. Am I wrong?"

"You three can wait in my office, it is straight that way, and then we will talk" Komui said. Lavi noticed his eyes glancing down at the people below. Was he looking for someone he knew in battle?

"Very well" Bookman started to walk away, Lavi following. Verinty clung to the back of his scarf and followed behind him. She seemed to regress back into the timid girl that he had first met. This annoyed him for some reason. Sure she was pretty, but she was a useless face that would be blurred out of history.

They arrived at Komui's office before long. It was a complete and utter mess. Lavi wrinkled his nose but went to sit on the couch next to Bookman. He saved some room for Verinty as well. Her odd-dual colored eyes glanced around, cautious and wide.

"So, you are _his_ daughter" Bookman spoke, making her eyes fall on him. She did not smile, if anything her look became depressing and grim.

"Yes. I rather think of myself as my mother's child."

"Can you use Innocence?" Lavi looked at Bookman and then at Verinty. Why wouldn't she not be able to use Innocence? She was human…wasn't she? Either way she shrugged, as if she had no idea whatsoever. She didn't seem to care either.

"I can fight"

"But can you fight against _them_?" Lavi was a littler irritated by Bookman's secrecy. Why was he seemingly keeping Lavi out on purpose? He was the next in line to be a Bookman. He would have to learn whatever Bookman was keeping to himself sooner or later.

She looked down at Bookman's question and frowned. "Did they get my mother?"

"Yes"

She was silent. "Is she…" She didn't finish her question.

"Yes"

She didn't say anything she just sucked in a deep breath and let out a loud sigh. Lavi could see the determination on her face, but he could also see the tears in her eyes. She didn't seem to want to cry. She took another deep breath in and combed her dark hair back from her face.

"So how long are we going to stay here?" asked Lavi, turning Bookman. "It's filthy here" he looked down at the floor, which was covered in papers and books. Sure maybe his and Bookman's room was crowded by it was more of an organized crowd. This was just chaos.

"A while" answered Bookman. "And its home now. We have a job to do here" Verinty didn't seem interested in their conversation. At that moment Komui walked in and sat in the chair behind his desk, looking tired.

"I'm sorry, I had to check on my sister" he said with a sigh. He looked at the three of them and brushed some of his hair back out of his face. "So, you two want to help the Order. Your help will be welcome of course."

"We will offer our services, but of course you know why we're really here" Komui merely nodded. Of course he knew, they were Bookmen, he should have known.

"But what about her?" he motioned to Verinty.

"I can take care of myself" She imputed. She was frowning, like she thought she was really strong enough. Lavi saw how thin she looked, not really what a fighter should look like.

"Her mother asked me to make sure she adjusts well here" Bookman told Komui, completely ignoring Verinty. She frowned, looking very angry about the whole situation and then Lavi saw how sad she was. It was just a glimmer but the girl was upset. Maybe about her mother.

"I'll have rooms prepared and for now you three can do as you wish" Komui motioned to the door. He looked very tired. Lavi, Bookman and Verinty stood. They all turned and walked out the door.

"Lavi, take Verinty and get something to eat. I'm going to go look around" Bookman then turned and walked quickly away.

"Wait! Where's the-" but Bookman was already gone. He turned to Verinty. He didn't know the layout of the place but it would just take one good walk around for him to burn it into his brain. He scratched his red hair and then looked around. "Well let's see if we can get to the dining area"

She didn't reply, just followed him silently as they began to walk. It was almost like being along. Lavi didn't really mind being alone, in fact it was preferred. He would much rather be alone in silence, it was easier to think about the things he had to think about. Like this battle he was now going to participate in. It would be long and hard and not everyone who would go into battle would come back out alive.

He was walking almost aimlessly until he ran into a girl with long black hair that was let down. She was dressed as an Exorcist but she was bandaged up. Her eyes were red, as if she had just been crying. She looked at Lavi with a look that conveyed surprise. She stopped mid-step and just looked at him for a moment before his eyes shifted to Verinty. Verinty shrunk away from her gaze.

"Hello?" her voice was unsure, like she didn't know if she wanted to talk to them or not. Maybe she was just wondering who they were.

"Hi" greeted Lavi. "I'm new here. My name is Lavi, this is Verinty. We're looking for a place to get some food" The girl blinked a few more times, making Lavi think she may have been a little slow but then her face broke into a cheerful smile. She seemed like the cheerful type, one who got attached to her friends and one who would protect them the best she could.

"My name is Lenalee Lee" she said, holding out her hand for him to shake it. He did and recalled his hand quickly. She was pretty, he did notice that. He also made a note of her last name, figuring that she was Komui's little sister. She looked about his age, well a little younger, maybe fifteen years old.

"It's nice to meet you Lenalee. Like I said before, do you know a place we can get some food?" he smiled, putting just enough charm in it to make it seem real.

"Sure, this way" she motioned for her to follow them. He followed behind her with Verinty clinging to the back of his scarf. She kept close to him, seeming timid and a little scared. He didn't really mind though. She would get braver or whatever and run off to do whatever she thought she needed to.

They followed Lenalee into the dining hall and up to the counter. A man walked away, holding a tray of food. Lenalee waved to the man behind the counter who smiled at Lavi and Verinty.

"Well hello there!" he greeted, smiling. "Aren't you a cute one? Even with the eye patch!" He was very energetic and Lavi had to say that he liked that. "So what can I get you today?"

Lavi stared at him for a moment, blinked and the smiled. The smile was a little fake, but the man didn't seem to notice.

"Jerry, this is Lavi. He's with the Bookman that just arrived today" explained Lenalee and Lavi made a mental note that his name was Jerry as soon as Lenalee said it. He felt Verinty nervously playing with his scarf. He wondered if she had a split personality. One moment she seemed brave, the next she seemed timid and afraid of everyone and everything. Now she was afraid again. Once again, it was a little annoying. Couldn't she at least pretend to be okay?

Either way, he placed his order, for what he wanted from Jerry and in a few minutes Jerry had it for him. It was a simple sandwich with a small soda. Lavi didn't really usually drink soda, but he had nothing against drinking it. He started to turn away, Verinty still clinging to his scarf but Jerry caught wind of the dual-eyed girl.

"Hey, honey! Don't you want anything to eat?" She froze and looked at him, her eyes wide. "Is she part of the Bookmen too?"

"No, we're taking care of her though. She's an orphan" Lavi said, lying smoothly. Well, it wasn't completely a lie. Her mother was dead now and he had no idea about her father but he assumed that he was dead or she had disowned herself from him at the very least.

She still hadn't spoken to Jerry yet but she relaxed and walked to the counter, her fingers resting on the edge. She looked at Jerry for a moment and then she broke into a smile. "I'd like what Lavi had"

Lavi blinked in surprise. That was the first time she had used his name. Odd, but it was nice to know that she knew it since he would be watching her until Bookman decided whatever they were going to do with her. Again he wondered why her mother ran from the Order when she was raising the girl.

"Alright, hun! Coming right up!" He disappeared into his kitchen and came back out in a few minutes with her food. He handed her the tray and smiled at her. "You seem a little nervous. Don't worry, it's not as big and scary here as it seems" Then he gave her a wink and she really smiled. She turned, with her tray and walked with Lavi and Lenalee to a table. There they all sat down. Lenalee started talking about places in the Order and Verinty ate in silence, which really didn't surprise Lavi at all.

"Are you an Exorcist Verinty?" she asked. Verinty looked up, from taking a drink of her soda, looking shocked. Then her expression fell.

"I don't think I can use Innocence"

"Why wouldn't you be able to?" asked Lenalee, a smile on her face, but Verinty didn't answer and instead took another bite out of her sandwich. Lenalee frowned, watching her for a moment. She then looked at Lavi. "Why is she here if she isn't an Exorcist? Is she a Finder?" She glanced at Verinty again. "Is she really an orphan?"

"Yes, my mother is dead" she snapped, sounding angry at Lenalee. Lenalee looked at Verinty, surprised by her sudden anger. Verinty's face fell again and looked away. Lavi could see the grief in her expression. She was only human; she would be grieving for a while.

"I don't know who she is yet…But the chief of this place seems interested in who she is."  
Lavi said honestly, because even he didn't know who she really was and the mystery pulled at his strings. He really wanted to know who she really was and what she had to do with everything. Why had Bookman gone with her mother? Who was her mother? Who killed her and why? It was truly annoying.

"Maybe I should ask my brother" he heard Lenalee mutter, which brought him out of his thoughts. He frowned a little, taking in the information that she just gave him. If the chief was her brother than that meant that Lenalee was pretty important then. He wondered what her role in the Black Order was as well.

Verinty finished her food and stood. "What do I do with this?" she asked her voice soft and strained. She was trying to hide the emotion in her voice.

"Just up there" Lenalee pointed out the location and Lavi quickly got up as well. "Where are you going?"

"I'm done. Thanks so much for helping us find this place? Bye!" He put his tray where Verinty had and hurried off after Verinty. He found her walking the hall a few branches off from the dining hall. "Veri!" he called. She stopped and turned to look at him.

"That's not my name" she answered.

"But it sounds cute" He answered with a grin. She rolled her eyes and started to walk away from him. He trotted easily after her. She gave him a mild glare and then she rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to leave me alone are you?" she asked.

"Not really. So where are you from anyway? Why were you and your mother away from the Order if she was an Exorcist?" he asked, curious to see if she could answer some of his questions.

"Mother and I were wanders. As for why we never came to the Order, I don't know" She looked at him and he saw that she shared her curiosity. There were a lot of things she did not know either. She almost looked desperate for the answers. "To tell you the truth, I wish I knew"

"I wish I knew too" he sighed, more on impulse than anything else.

"Help me then" her words were quick and low. He looked at her shocked. "I need someone to help me find out about my father. My mother never told me anything. If I'd ask she'd only say 'It's better if I don't'" She looked upset and frustrated. "I need to know and you want to know"

"I don't know…What's in it for me?" he asked, but he couldn't help but be interested.

"Getting all of your questions answered" she said, her eyes serious.

He stopped and put his hands behind his head. She stopped, looking at him. "Well…I guess that sounds good" He said. He held out one hand to her. "Alliance?"

She looked at him, her dual-colored eyes flashing and then she put her well tanned hand into his much paler one. "Alliance, at least until we find out everything I want to know about my father"

"So then we end it?" he asked. Did she think it would be so easy?

"Of course, because if he's still alive I have to find him"

"Alright then. Alliance, for now" He gave her a wryly smile and she gave him a grim one. Maybe their Alliance would only last until she had found what she wanted, but Lavi had a feeling that it would be very interesting until then.

* * *

This is my Lavi x OC story as you all know by now~ This story has some deep secrets and dark pasts hidden in it. Not everything is as it seems and bonds will be tested. So anyway, hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I tried to base it a little off the Manga, but I changed somethings (well yeah...) Anyway. As for the rule with all my stories, please give me reviews and I will give you chapters. I know this one wasn't so good but its interesting at the least right?

**Disclaimer!: I don't own any characters from D Gray Man or D Gray Man itself.  
Verinty is mine though, do not steal!**


	2. Research

**Silence  
****D Gray Man  
****Research**

Lavi didn't get to talk to Verinty again that night. In fact he didn't even hear or see her go into her room, which was just across the hall from his and Bookman's. He looked for her in the morning, but she was not in her room then either. To tell the truth it worried him. She seemed so desperate for information on her father, on herself. He wondered if she got herself in trouble looking for this information. He didn't think she was stupid, she was really quiet but stupid…

Then again he didn't really know her, he had just met her the day before and by chance pretty much. Although Bookman's avoidance of questions was starting to make him think Chance had less to do with them picking up Verinty than he first had guessed. He couldn't know for sure though. He walked around, peeking in rooms looking for the dual-eyed girl. The last place he had to check was the dining area. He looked in and there she was, talking to the man named Jerry. As he got closer he could hear what Jerry was telling her.

"Oh don't worry about anything Verinty. Just tell me if anyone tries to mess with you. I'll help you out!" He gave her a smile and she smiled a little in return. "Plus, I bet you'll make friends in no time!" He looked up to see Lavi coming. "Isn't he one of your friends?" She looked up as well and her smile carefully faded. No, he was not one of her friends. He was her ally and nothing more. By the time Jerry looked at her again, she had the smile back in place.

"Yes." She waited there while he walked up, ordered some food and then she didn't speak until he looked at her. "Jerry didn't know my mom well"

He looked at her disappointed face. It was easy to fake a smile. "Don't worry, there has to be something to point us in the right direction" Reassuring her wasn't so easy. She looked doubtful and she then looked away from him, as if he were annoying her. He got his food and they headed off to sit down. They had only just when Lenalee took a seat next to Lavi. Verinty was already sitting across from him.

"Hey Lavi! Hey Verinty!" she greeted cheerfully. She had food with her as well. She started talking to Lavi while Verinty sat silently. Lavi noticed how tense Verinty seemed to be. He got from her posture, she did not like Lenalee. He wondered why. He made a mental note to ask her later.

Then along came Johnny Gill. How did Lavi know his name? He introduced himself almost right away. He was a little guy with frizzy hair and huge glasses. He was asking about making a uniform for Lavi. He was about to tug Lavi up and drag him off when Verinty stood. He looked at her.

"Hey, are you alright?" he asked. Lavi gave Verinty a glance. She looked pale, almost sickly. He didn't get to say anything because she ran out of the room, her bare feet slapping against the stone floors. Lavi blinked and looked at Johnny again. "Um..." he seemed almost lost for words. "Let's go get you fitted Lavi. So everything fits right"

"Alright" he agreed, almost reluctant. It wasn't like he and Verinty were friends. Allies at best, if even that. He looked off in the direction that she had gone one more time. He didn't have time to be concerned with her now though. He had to be watching out for himself.

Verinty didn't know where she was going. She hadn't felt well since she woke up. She had a pounding headache that would not go away and she kept getting dizzy spells. She got attacked by another one so she quickly leaned against the wall. The world was spinning so fast. It was kind of making her a little sick.

She had never felt like this before. She had never even been sick. Not once in her life, even though she had traveled her whole life. Even as she had walked barefoot most places a majority of her life. Even now she was barefoot. She hated shoes and refused to wear them. She hated the cramped feeling that she felt when her feet were shoved inside of shoes.

She blinked and hurried along. She managed to slip into an empty room. It was the library. It surprised her that it was empty, but she didn't care. She hurried over to a small couch and lay down. She worked on breathing and keeping calm. Soon her headache started to fade. She wasn't sure how long she laid there but eventually the door to the library was pushed open. She glanced over and saw Lavi. He didn't really look worried. Not at first, but like a good Bookman, his face flashed with worry.

Her mother had told her about Bookmen, how they rarely got attached to the people around them, how they rarely showed true emotions, how they faked them more than anything else. She had thought that a Bookman would make a perfect ally. They were curious, information hungry. They would help her, or at least one would. She just got lucky that the one she wanted to help her was more her age, knew less and would be easier to use.

He would be the way she would find out everything she wanted to, needed to find out. He would help her, he liked it or not.

"Are you alright?" he asked. She did not respond. "Veri?" he asked. Anger stirred inside her and annoyance too. The emotions inside her reminded her of buzzing bees. She sat up and glared at the young man.

"That's not my name!" she snapped at him.

He grinned at her. "I guess you're alright then" He said. She rolled her eyes at him and stood, getting ready to leave. He stopped her, grabbing her wrist. She froze and then pulled her wrist away from him, tugging so hard she literally fell over. "Are you alright?" he asked again and he leaned down to look at her.

She did not like to be touched but she could not tell this Bookman that. Instead she stood up, brushing off her skirt and patted down some of her hair. "I'm fine" she answered. "Why did you stop me from leaving?"

"Because we might as well do some research while we're here." He pointed out and she could see his logic.

"Will they keep information that we want here? Where anyone could get it?" He shrugged and started to move off towards the sea of bookshelves. Did the same, moving towards what looked to be the older books. It was a long look around. In the end, there was nothing on the lower shelves that caught her eye. She sighed and then climbed up a bookshelf.

She was used to climbing; rocks, trees, buildings. None of it was hard for her. She hurried towards the top and found a line of five unmarked books. She ran her fingers along their spines. Dust was coating them. They were old. She could see that. She wondered how old they were. She picked the first one out and opened it and gazed at it. It was a record journal of false cases of Innocence.

The one she was looking at was fifty years old. She carefully leafed through the rest of the pages but none had any information from the last sixteen years. She put the first one back. She was reaching for the second when she was suddenly startled.

"What are you _doing_ up there?" She looked down and saw Lavi. He looked shocked. "Why didn't you use a ladder?" he cried.

"Because I didn't see one" she answered. He blinked at her and then smiled a little.

"You're a bit crazy, you know that?" Her brow furrowed.

"_Excuse_ me?" They didn't get any further than that because they heard footsteps stop outside the door. Verinty quickly climbed off the bookshelf. Lavi motioned for her to follow him as the door opened.

"I found another way out, hurry" She followed him out another door and into the hallway. He shoved his hands in his pockets as they walked. "Did you find anything?"

"Yes, I was looking at it. Some records. We need them" Her brow furrowed as she tried to think of a way to get the information she wanted. No, she needed that information.

"Let's go get it tonight" he suggested.

"Late tonight?"

"Got that right." He grinned and inside Verinty was already liking that grin. It was one that promised trouble. Actually, she knew she could get used to this guy and his troublesome grin.

The world wasn't any fun without a little trouble to make things interesting, now was it?

_**That Night**_

She was dressed in her nightgown because she had gone to bed a few hours ago. Or at least made it look like so. She opened her room door and peeked out. Lavi was waiting outside of her door. She quickly walked out and closed the door behind her. He was dressed in his night clothes too. His red hair was down instead of spiked up.

"Ready to be bad girl?" he asked. She smiled at him and they both hurried off towards the library. The only part of the Order that was really still up was the Science Department. They snuck past them rather easily and opened the door to the library, both wincing as it creaked.

As soon as they were inside, Lavi took up a post as a guard by the door, out of sight of the door but able to watch it just in case. Verinty hurried to her shelf and quickly scaled it, once again without the use of a ladder. She picked up the second book and scanned it.

It had records from forty years ago. She put it back after checking it quickly. All records were from about forty years ago. She checked the rest of the books but only took the last two. She held them both tightly in her hand and started to climb down the shelf. Verinty dropped the one book though as she started to climb down.

"Crap!" she hissed but Lavi was there and he caught the book. He grinned up at her and she grinned back. She hurried down the bookshelf.

No sooner had she gotten off the shelf, they heard footsteps outside the library. The two young teens glanced at each other and then hurriedly hid behind a bookshelf, out of sight from the door.

Lavi held one of the books and Verinty held the other, hugging it to her chest. They stood still and smooshed together as they waited to be caught or not to be caught. The door opened and closed. Then they heard footsteps along with the sound of two people sitting down.

"There, we shouldn't be bothered in here" a voice said. Verinty recognized it as Bookman's. She wasn't one hundred percent sure though and she glanced at Lavi. His eye told her everything she needed to know. It _was_ Bookman.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened to Rebecca? I never met her personally, but all the Generals knew her, somewhat." It was Komui's voice or at least sounded like it.

"She and Verinty intercepted us on the way here. We talked little in the carriage, she did not want to upset her daughter. Rebecca knew she was going to die that day" Bookman's voice carried no real emotion in it and it made Verinty angry. She held it in though, she could not lash out here and she didn't even know how she would lash out.

"What happened after that?"

"Me and Rebecca left to talk without the children." answered Bookman. "We walked only a little while and we talked. She told me some things about Verinty that interest me. She should be watched carefully as her sixteenth birthday is next week. At least that was what her mother told me."

Verinty looked at Lavi and he looked back at her. "Why would they want to watch me?" she mouthed. He shrugged in response.

"Why are we to watch her?"

"Think about her family line" Bookman said his voice showing a bit of urgency. "She may be unstable and the Noah may come to retrieve her. Children like her are very hard to come by. Maybe there are Half-Human Noah out there but Half-Exorcist? Unheard of" Verinty's brow furrowed. Half-Exorcist?

She tried to peek out to see who Bookman was telling who she was too. As she leaned, she didn't notice a book sticking out and it fell to the ground with a clatter. She jumped back, luckily not into their sight. Lavi grabbed her at that moment and they dashed away. They ran through the maze of bookshelves and finally they found another exit. Lavi through the door open and they both ran as fast as they could down the hall.

They hurried to their rooms but before she went into her's Lavi gave her the other book. "Here, take this" he said. She looked at him. "If Bookman finds it in our room, I'll be in trouble" he explained. She nodded. one quick bob of her head.

She turned to go into her room and he into his. She turned back a little and looked at him. "Oh, Good night Lavi" She didn't wait for him to return the words but hurried into her room, closing the door. She hid the books and climbed into bed. It had been a long night and she needed. She didn't get much sleep though, Bookman's words swirled through her head through the endless night.

_**The Next Morning**_

Lavi woke when the sunlight hit his face. He groaned and rolled over. He didn't get anymore sleep than that because a shadow fell over him. He rolled over and looked to see Bookman who was dressed in new black clothes. The rose cross of the Black Order was pinned to his chest. Lavi blinked and then sat up.

"We have our uniforms already?" he asked.

"Yes, the Chief wants to sends out on a mission today"

"Wow, two days rest and right back out" Lavi yawned. "Alright, where is my uniform" His questioned was answered when he looked on the edge of his bed. There sat his mostly black uniform, his usual red scarf sitting on top of the pile. He quickly got up and got dressed. By the time he was done, Bookman had left to get breakfast before the mission.

He walked across the hall and knocked on Verinty's door. She answered, but only opened it a crack. She did not speak but she looked at him with her golden eye. Chills ran down his spine. Her golden eye alone gave him the creeps for some reasons but he wasn't sure why.

"I have to go on a mission" he said.

"I know" she answered. His brow furrowed, how did she already find out? "I have to go. Bye" She closed the door on him, and retreated back into her room. He stood outside her room for a moment, thinking over how weird she was acting but he decided not to say anything. Plus, what did he care? He just wanted information on who she really was.

He turned and walked away. He wondered why she seemed so…What was a good word for it? He distracted himself with that until he reached the dining hall. He ate in silence, even as Lenalee came to join him, and tried not to think of much except the mission he was about to do. Once he was done he hurried off to go see Komui.

Bookman was already there. They were waiting for him.

"Alright, now that you are both here…" Komui looked at a piece of paper her had. "We have a case of residents of a town disappearing when they go into the woods near their home. It's odd. I don't know why but we believe it may becaused by Akuma attrached to an Innocence in the forest." He looked at Lavi and Bookman. "It shouldn't be too difficult for you, should it Bookman?"

"Of course not. It'll also be a good chance for us to record the war up close" Bookman rose. "Come along pup" He walked out of the room and Lavi followed, trotting along behind him. He looked at the Finders who were now following them. There were four of them. Did they need so many? But either way, he would not let it bother him. He followed Bookman without a question.

One of the Finders suddenly fell. "Oh!" he heard them gasp and then when the Finder looked at him, he could see that they had a bandage over one of their eyes. The other eye was a dim dark blue. The guy's face was slim and feminine, but his eyes were hard and serious. Lavi helped him up. "Thanks" he grunted and hurried off with the other Finders and Bookman.

"You're welcome" grumbled Lavi. That Finder had reminded him that humans were ungrateful. They were stupid and they fought a lot of senseless wars. Maybe the war on Akuma didn't seem senseless but what if, in the end it turned out to be just that. Another stupid, senseless human war.

He hurried up and got back to Bookman and the others. The Finder he had helped stayed a little away from the others, face and eyes always grim, always looking angry. He wondered why. Was he in this war for revenge? Maybe…then again a lot of people were.

_**Several Hours Later**_

They were walking through a forest. Lavi thought that it was a cliché that they would be searching in a forest. It was kind of dark in the forest, tall pine and oak tree surrounding them. The locals in the village called this 'The forest that surpassed time' because it was so ageless. It had a nice ring to it. Made it sound spooky.

Lavi kept his keen eyes open and watched the forest around him, as he was sure that Bookman was doing. It seemed peaceful and in fact it was peaceful. Before they knew it night had fallen and they were making camp. The only problem arose when they realized that they only had three tents. The Finders had set them up, the young man with the angry eyes working faster than the other three.

"I will take this tent" said Bookman, looking at the first tent. Then he looked at the young man who was tending the fire he had just set up. "Lavi, the young Finder will sleep in your tent with you" The younger Finder stood up straight and looked at Bookman for a moment with his one eye. He touched the other one and then sighed, crouching down again to tend the fire.

"Why?" asked Lavi.

"Because, I need a tent to myself and to stuff four of them in one tent won't work" answered Bookman. "Get some rest. We leave again at dawn." He entered his tent again. The four Finders looked at each other for a moment; they were all around the fire now.

"I'll take first watch" said the one with only one eye. The other three looked at each other and one looked about to argue. "Go!" snapped the youngest one again. The other three scrambled into their shared tent. Lavi watched the one who was still outside poke at the fire.

"Why don't you get some sleep? I'm an exorcist, it makes better sense for me to keep first watch." He suggested. He smiled at them when they turned to look at him, just to make himself seem kind. He needed to seem kind, like he cared. He needed to act and act well.

"No" he growled. "Go to bed" He went back to tending the fire. He put another log on it.

"Alright" Lavi said with a sigh. He wondered why this Finder was so grumpy, so unkind. Most Finders that he had met in his short time with the Order were kind to the Exorcists. Some were not, that was true but either way…He entered his tent and laid down, his boots still on. He had to be ready for any given moment.

It was the middle of the night, that he was sure of, when he opened his eye. He looked around and looked over at the Finder that had kept first watch. They were taking their coat off. When their hood fell back he could see long dark hair. He gasped.

"Verinty?" he asked.

She turned back to look back at him and her face lit up, bright red. Her eyes were still dim but she closed them for a moment and suddenly they weren't so dim anymore. She didn't look so bitter anymore. He knew it was her because she seemed to confirm it herself. She turned to face him completely. He could see that the bandages on her chest were keeping people from seeing that her chest was not flat.

"Yeah" she answered at last. "I couldn't let you go alone"

"Why not? You're not really a Finder"

"Because, you could get killed and then where would I be. I might never find out about my father" He saw how tired she looked. She must have stayed up the whole night before reading those books they had stolen. At least that was his guess.

"So, now that you're here, I guess it's too late to send you back. We're just going to have to keep it a secret that you're you." He yawned and curled up into his blankets. "Get some sleep"

"Sure" He heard her move around a little more but after a few minutes he saw her curled up on her own blankets. Her hair was tied up but her hood was down. He wondered why she didn't put her hood back up but he didn't let the fact bother him and he slipped into sleep once again.

_**A few miles away**_

The Akuma buzzed around, nervous. Its glowing eyes were fixed on the fire a few miles away. It was much further than a human could see, that was for sure. It was waiting and it did not like it. It wanted to kill, right then. It was only level one but it had to obey its masters. One such master would soon be there. It just had to wait.

"There you are" It turned at her voice.

"Mistress Road!" it cried and it hurried towards her. "Mistress Road" is cried again.

"Yes, yes" She looked towards where the fire was as well. Her eyes could see that far as well. Noah's eyes were powerful. Noah was powerful. She turned her golden eyes onto the Akuma. "So, she's with the Exoricsts?"

It nodded, wanting to please its master.

"How troublesome. If only her mother had stayed in the open a _little_ longer." She sighed and fiddled with the umbrella in her hands. It was commonly known as Lero and it was a golem belonging to the Earl. Most of the Akuma knew that she very often took Lero from the Earl.

"Can we kill them?" it squeaked. It wanted to kill, evolve, it had to evolve.

"Yes, but not the girl. She is too…important for you to kill." Road looked at the Akuma again, focusing her golden eyes on it. It twitched in her gaze, not liking it. It wasn't very fun to be observed by her. She was a calculating Noah. She liked to play with the weak and break the strong apart at the seams. It had not been an Akuma for very long but still, it knew this. It had been around enough Level Twos.

"Kill now?"

"I suppose so" she said, and she brushed some of her hair out of her face. "Go have some fun with them Akuma" she ordered and the Akuma's face lit up like a child's face on Christmas. It raced off and Road laughed. It shivered. It could hear Road's laugh the whole way there.

_**In the Camp**_

_"Akuma!_" the shrill scream woke both Lavi and Verinty up. She quickly pulled her hood up and grabbed the talisman that was in her bag. She hurried out of the tent with Lavi right behind her. He would not let her fight alone. Once they got out of the tent they saw that one Finder was dead but the others were encasing some of the Akuma in their talisman.

Verinty went to help and Lavi started his fight. It wasn't very long till he heard a cry and the other two Finder's went down. He turned to find Verinty. She was still standing but her talisman was broken. She had not been hit but a bullet but by a physical attack from the Akuma. She was holding her arm. She looked rebellious even as she looked scared.

"Come along pet, Mistress Road would like to see you" he heard the Akuma say. He attacked it, not wanting to hear more.

"No! Wait!" cried Verinty but the Akuma screeched as it died. He turned to see if Verinty was okay, the other Akuma were retreating. "Verinty-"

"Why did you kill it?" she yelled.

"What?" Lavi was confused for a moment. Why _wouldn't_ he kill it?

"Why did you kill it?" she asked again. He could see tears in the one eye that could be seen. "That thing…It knew something about my…" She shook her head, the tears escaping.

"Wait, knew what?"

"It knew the people who killed my mother"

* * *

Ah well, chapter two is out. Sorry to tell you already, but this story will be alot shorter than my other one. The plot will advance quicker though. Thanks to xWeaselxWolf for reviewing. Come on, everyone else can review too! Don't just let her do it all. So anyway, hope you liked this chapter and give me some reviews guys!


	3. A Lead

**Silence  
****D Gray Man  
****A Lead**

Lavi tried to keep Verinty on her feet, but her knees gave out and she fell. He didn't fall with her; he just kept a hold on her arm. She was trembling, but she pulled herself together, quicker than he thought most humans could. She stood and started fumbling with her hood. He didn't get the action for a moment until a second later he heard footsteps. He turned and saw Bookman coming with sharp eyes.

"Don't bother with your hood Verinty. You didn't fool me for a moment" She froze and her hood dropped, showing her long dark hair. She ripped the bandages off her golden eye and Lavi took an automatic step back from her. Her golden eye was glowing. How, why he didn't get it. She looked at him and her blue eye was completely normal but her golden eye…

"Veri, your eye" He pointed and her hand came up over her golden eye, looking shocked.

"Interesting" muttered Bookman. "Let me see your eye Verinty" She lowered herself to his level and uncovered her eye. "Close your other eye" She did as he said. He inspected her for a moment. "Your birthday is in six days, correct?"

She looked a little shocked as she straightened. "Yes…My birthday is coming up" she answered. Lavi didn't know where this was leading either but he remembered Bookman's words in the library.

"I hope it is a wonderful day for you" He said and he started to walk away. "Come along. We have a long way to go and we risk another Akuma attack if we stay still" Verinty looked at Lavi. He did not know what she was looking for or if she found it but she hurried after Bookman. Lavi sighed, watching them both for a moment and then followed as well. He really didn't have a choice in the matter anyway.

It was a long walk to find the Innocence, to even get to it. They got to it first though. It was a good thing. Lavi didn't want to fight anymore. He just wanted to get this over with and head back to the Order. He sighed. He was told to carry the Innocence in the bag on his hip. Verinty stood by his side watching him.

"What?" he asked.

"The Innocence…sets me on edge" she whispered, stepping closer to him so she could keep her voice down.

"Do you wanna see it?" he asked. He touched the bag and she took a step back, shaking her head. He tilted his and gazed at her golden eye again. The sun was just starting to come up so her eye was glowing less. In fact her eyes had almost gone back to normal. He didn't remember it glowing the other night in the library. He shrugged it off. He would talk about this to her later. He did want to record about her now. She was not just simply a normal girl.

He had noted how the Akuma spoke to her. It had spoken to her as if she were important. It had called her 'pet'. That was a nickname given to one that was endearing to another. So what link did Verinty have with the Akuma? That was still a mystery to Lavi. One he really wanted to find out. He was sure that Verinty wanted to know as well. She wanted to know really, really bad. It might just be her deepest wish to know because Lavi had a huge hunch that this was connected to her mystery father.

"Verinty, Junior. We've got to go" called Bookman. He wasn't far away. Verinty scampered off after him. Lavi grinned and hurried after him as well. He walked along Bookman, Verinty trailing behind. "I want you to watch her Lavi. Record what happens over the next six days"

"And after it?"

"I do not know if there will be an after for her" He answered, combing his fingers through his hair. Lavi wanted to ask but Verinty was suddenly right on his heels so he kept his question to himself. He wondered what was going to happen in six days other than her birthday. It couldn't be too bad…could it?

He remembered – perfectly – what happened in the Library the other night. He couldn't really put two and two together. He knew what a Noah was – of course. He touched his eye patch. How could he ever forget? With a sigh he looked at Bookman again.

"Alright – I'll watch and record" he agreed at last.

Bookman looked up at him with a saucy smirk. "You act like you had a choice" Then Verinty was on the other side of Lavi. Lavi noticed that her boots were attached to her backpack and that she was barefoot, almost dancing as she walked. She seemed to be thinking to herself. She didn't even seem to be paying any mind to what Lavi and Bookman were say. Just because she seemed that way though, didn't mean it was true. She could be listening – oh so casually – to what they were saying. It was better if they dropped the conversation.

"Veri" he called to her as she took six steps ahead. Lavi watched her – one, two, a small pause, three, four, five, she half twirled, six. She stopped as her foot hit the seventh step and half turned to face him, her hair starting to make a curtain across her face. The sun made her skin glow, healthy. "Why aren't you wearing your shoes?" he asked, curious. If he had to spend time with her, might as well learn as much as he could about her.

It wasn't like he knew her at all. She was a mystery and he enjoyed learning about people – humans – even if they were horrible creatures. He was better than them, higher than them. He could fake a smile; spin a laugh, just to make them happy. It was how he did things. It was easier that way too. He rather not get attached to any one human. If he did…He would feel so weak. He hated feeling weak for any reason. Humans were weak and horrible creatures. So maybe he did flirt with some girls; still didn't mean he liked any of them truly.

Now that he thought about it, he played with a couple of hearts in his short time. There was a little brown-haired girl a year back who had some information that Lavi wanted. He had just flirted and complimented his way into her circle of trust and got the information he needed. She had been eighteen and even though Lavi had been only fifteen he had still flattered her to no end. He had also told her that he was seventeen. He didn't know how she swallowed that one.

He sighed and ruffled his hair. She reminded him of someone he had seen before – he couldn't think of whom though. He just met her practically, but yet.

Now Verinty, who was still looking at him, answered his question. "I don't like them" Then she was dancing ahead again. He remembered the first day they met she had been barefoot too. He wondered why she didn't like shoes – then again the steps she was taking kind of reminded him of dancers' or gypsies'. Maybe that was it?

He sighed before Verinty suddenly danced back and put her face right into his. "My name is Verinty. Not Veri" Then she hurried away again. Bookman glanced up at Lavi at the same time Lavi glanced down at him. She never spoke more than a handful of words ever. She never yelled, she was very soft-spoken.

In fact she didn't seem to like anyone at the Order. She barely seemed to like Lavi apart from the fact that he was her ally. Maybe she was a good actor as well – maybe she hated the world. It was common for humans to begin to hate everyone and everything when they lost something dear to them. She had lost her mother and she might be blaming the world. It wouldn't surprise him. He had seen it before. Plenty of times.

He guessed he would just have to wait.

_**Five Days Later**_

It took them five days to return to base. That left two for Lavi to watch Verinty. Two until she was the same age as him – sixteen. He wondered what was so great about the number. Two years from adulthood, big deal right? Bookman seemed a little wound up when he went to take the Innocence to the Science Department. Verinty watched him touch it with wary eyes. She looked almost like she wanted to hit it away from him or even run away from it. Lavi figured he might need to talk to her about that subject a little more.

After they had given the Innocence to Komui, they all headed to the cafeteria. Bookman walked ahead of Lavi and Verinty. He was trying to let Lavi get closer to her so he could get more information from her. Or at least let Lavi pretend to get closer to her. She didn't seem to even notice. She would make a good Bookman….but she was a girl so was it Bookwoman?

Eh, either way. They got their food and sat down. They were only eating for a few minutes and then Lenalee suddenly appeared and sat by Lavi. She smiled at Bookman and Verinty and then looked at Lavi again.

"Hey! How was your trip?" she asked. She smiled again. She sure smiled a lot, but she was pretty. It was more than just a pretty face that got Lavi going though – even if he acted like that was it. He was a teenage boy after all. He could be a little low if he wanted to be. He gazed at Verinty for a moment and glanced at Bookman before returning his eyes to the pig-tailed girl beside him.

"Our mission was a success" he replied, keeping his voice cheerful and happy.

"That's great. I heard all of your Finders but one was killed by Akuma though" She frowned, looking upset. She must have not liked that people had died. It didn't bother Lavi. In his short life he had seen a lot of people die. He didn't let it bother him, he never did. Bookman had taught him that he was better than humans – he believed it.

"Yeah, one survived and she was pretty useful in the end" he jabbed his thumb at Verinty. She looked up from eating her soup, her dual-colored eyes saying that she did not want to be involved in this conversation.

"Oh, so she was your Finder? Brother has had people looking for you for days. It wasn't right for you to sneak off" Lenalee said to Verinty. Verinty glared venom for Lavi and the 'shut-up' look for Lenalee. Without another sound she stood. She swayed and then shook her head, stomping off. She didn't even grab her food.

"Oh. I think you made her mad" Lavi said, watching her disappear into the hall. He had noticed how she swayed. She was sick again. He knew he should go after her but he wanted to talk to Lenalee a little more and learn a bit more about her relationship with the chief.

"Should I go apologize?" asked Lenalee, looking worried.

Lavi waved his hand. "No. I don't think she feels good anyway" he said. Bookman looked at him.

"Has she not been feeling well?"

"Err…Not really. She gets headaches and gets dizzy sometimes. She thinks it's just a headcold" Lavi said with a sigh. He didn't believe it but he didn't know what else it could be. Besides that fact he couldn't really care all that too much. After all Bookman seemed to think she was going to die or something on her sixteenth birthday so what was the use of getting attached? That's right. There wasn't.

"Maybe you better check on her" Bookman suggested but his tone said 'Go record this'. Lavi grimaced and took a bite of his food before grabbing it and getting up.

"Sure think, Old Panda" he said with a wave. He took his food up and then went after Verinty. He couldn't find her for the longest while. He checked the library first, then he went to the Science Department to see if they had seen her – they hadn't. He wandered the halls looking for her but she seemed to be nowhere in sight. He wasn't worried, he was just frustrated.

Then he found her. His foot caught on something and then suddenly he found himself on the ground. He looked around trying to see what tripped him and then she saw her. She was in a corner, sweat covering her face. She looked pale – sickly pale – and she was panting for breath. He had tripped over her leg. She pulled it closer to her body, trying not to stick out so much.

"Veri…Are you alright?"

"L-Lavi?" she stuttered over his name. She looked at him, eyes seemed distanced, like she wasn't seeing what was in front of her. She coughed then.

"Veri? Are you alright?" He grabbed her and picked her up, holding her in his arms. "I'm taking you to see the head nurse." She struggled in his arms, but it was very futile attempt.

"No…No" she whispered. "Do…Don't!" He walked slowly. "Do..n't take me there! Do..Don't take me there!" She struggled even more and then he stopped.

"Why not?"

"B-be-because! I said not to!" Her words came out stuttered and he didn't like that. Not that he was truly worried about her but put a layer of worry on his face. He half put her down. Her feet touched the ground but she leaned against him. She pressed her face close. "Tak..e me to...to...my ro...om." She ordered. He looked at her for a long moment and then scooped her into his arms again and headed the opposite way he had orginally been going to take her.

"You better explain when we get there" he grumbled.

The next two days were hard for Lavi. Verinty was very sick. Everytime he asked her to take her one of the Nurses or even bring a nurse to her, she'd beg him not to. Her eyes were so pleading, her lips pouting and it reminded him – she was _just_ a girl. So he'd give in and let her get what she wanted. At least on the first day.

The second day was totally different.

He snuck into her room – no one knew that she was sick, they just thought that she was still mourning her mother. That was what Lavi had told everyone and if anyone tried to come see her, he made up excuses so that no one did see how bad she was.

He looked at her, curled into a ball, cold sweat across her skin and her eyes closed, her mouth moving yet no words coming out. He wondered what the hell could be wrong with her until her eyes snapped open. For a moment, they both looked golden. He froze in front of the door, it snapping shut behind him. She blinked and then her eyes were back to normal.

"L..Lavi?" she gasped, and she tried to sit up. She held her head looking dizzy. He walked across her room and he touched her shoulder, holding her up.

"Verinty? Are you alright?" He used her whole name – which he didn't often do. He didn't want to make her angry in her current state though. She looked so ill, so unwell. He bit his lip. He wished he could help her more than he had. All he could do was bring food to her, make sure she didn't fall off the bed.

"Lis..ten Lavi." She said then. "Go…don't come ba…ck" She ordered, staring straight into his eye. "Go. Come back…tomorrow" She shuddered.

"Veri, you aren't well" he pointed out. He didn't move.

"Go!" she ordered and he jumped at how loud, how strong her voice got. She was supposed to be sick, supposed to be weak and yet she was ordering him to _leave_. He couldn't just leave her. She had to be out of her mind. Maybe she was. He let go of her shoulder and stepped back. She laid down again, looking at him with tired eyes.

"I can come back tomorrow?" he asked. He looked at her for a moment. She looked so tired, so worn out. He sighed and then touched the bed for a moment. "I'll be back tomorrow." Then he turned and left the room. He didn't look back at her. Something inside of him, some instinct, told him that the right thing to do right now was to leave her alone. He shouldn't look back and he shouldn't interfere. Whatever was going was beyond his power.

So when he left, he locked the door behind him.

The next morning Lavi went back to Verinty's room. He wasn't even dressed yet. He had woken up early, curious, to why he was not able to come back the night before. His hair was messed up and in his face, and he still felt like the mark from the pillow pressing into his face was still there. He knocked on her door, as quietly as he could.

The door opened a crack and he was pulled inside. It slammed shut behind him.

Verinty was holding onto his shirt, staring up to him with wide, frightened eyes. Her hair was perfectly straight, she was wearing regular clothes already and she had an odd necklace that he had not seem before around her neck. There was an old symbol scratched onto the main jewel of the necklace, but there were more scratched into the silver. The jewel was a ruby, if Lavi was right.

"Veri! You're better!" he said, smiling. She looked up at him in a way that said she wasn't better at all. She was moving around, standing on her own feet and she had combed her hair out. Her face had color to it, her eyes were bright – maybe too bright – but the fact was that she was better.

"I don't know about that" she let go of him and paced away. "I wanted to talk to you – to tell you…I…" She shook her head. "Not now. Not here. Let's get some breakfast" Then she felt silent and she walked out of the room, holding the door open for him, waiting for him to follow. He did. She closed the door and walked alongside him completely silent. He didn't know if the silence was a good or bad thing. At least she seemed better. They only walked a little further when the thought struck him.

"Hey, yesterday was your birthday!" he said.

"No" she answered. "Today is"

He stopped in surprise. Hadn't she told Bookman….?

"Today…I'm sixteen"

She walked on, not waiting for Lavi at all. Lavi caught up with her within a minute though and was just as silent as he walked now. He didn't know why, but she had given him a lot to think about. First thing was first.

She lied to Bookman about her birthday. He didn't know why she would have. There was no reason to lie to him; what did she gain from lying? Then there was the fact that she had suddenly fallen ill…No, he had seen that she already ill upon arriving. He remembered how she looked the day before, like she was in the worst kind of pain. Today she seemed fine, better in fact. Her walk was fluid and easy. She looked haunted though. Deep in her eyes he could see how worried - how scared – she was. What was there to be scared of?

What was she running from?

He almost laughed. He had figured it out. She was _running_ from something. But what? No, who was she running from?

His mind ran in endless circles as he tried to figure the whole thing out. The worst part was that he was _so close_, but yet he felt like he had an endless path to run before he knew exactly what had gone on before her birth. It was important, something told him that. He sighed.

They walked into the dining hall. They got their food and sat down. They didn't talk while they ate. In fact Verinty seemed almost completely silent now. They hung around the dining hall for a while more and Lenalee showed up – fully dressed, which reminded Lavi that he still needed to get dressed – and asked them how they slept. Verinty didn't answer.

After a moment of silence Lenalee spoke again. "Where have you been for the last few days?" Again Verinty didn't answer. She looked at Lenalee for a long moment before rising.

"I was ill" then she left.

"What?" Lenalee's brow furrowed with what Lavi believed was worry. She watched after Verinty. "I should go talk to her. She said she didn't feel well" Without another word, Lenalee got up and went after Verinty which left Lavi alone at the table.

Humans were odd. Verinty didn't seem to like Lenalee – anyone for that matter – but yet Lenalee went after to her to make sure she was alright. If a one didn't like another than that other should leave the one alone. Didn't it make the world a better place? If everyone left everyone else alone, then maybe there would be less wars. Humans were stupid though. They were driven by stupid causes. Mainly by their emotions. A race ruled by emotions wasn't much of a race.

If they lost a loved one – they freaked out. It was stupid. They all had others to love, but then again Lavi didn't really like that emotion either. It was the strongest, thus the most dangerous. He sighed and figured at the very least he better go get dressed.

He stood and hurried to his room.

A few minutes he left his room and saw Lenalee sitting outside of Verinty's room. She looked up at Lavi. She smiled a little.

"We talked a little but…you seem closer to her" she said. "I think she wants to talk to you anyway. I was waiting for you, to tell you that" She stood and smiled. "You're a nice person Lavi. I know I've only known you a little while, but it's true"

He looked at her for a moment and then smiled, playing his part as a Bookman. Her brother must have not warned her about the tribe of Bookmen. They didn't really care, they distanced themselves from the world to record it and that was it. He may have been smiling on the outside but on the inside something twisted. Why was he acting again? An innocent girl called him nice and here he was fooling her? He ignored that part of him.

"I'll talk to her. I'll see if I can get her out of her room"

"Thanks Lavi" She smiled again, looking adorable, before walking off. He watched her go before adjusting his headband and knocking on Verinty's door. She didn't answer, so he stood there. He really didn't know where to go for there. He knocked again, louder but once again he was ignored.

He then felt like something was very, very wrong.

Verinty sat in her room, petting the white cat within it. She smiled a little at the cat. She didn't know how or why it was there but it was. She didn't understand anything anymore. She wasn't a part of the world. Not anymore. Last night, everything just seemed to stop. For some reason, somehow, life had never started back up. Now she seemed to just be floating. Nothing seemed to touch her and she liked it. She knew that maybe she shouldn't but…

The cat curled up against her and she heard a knock which caused the cat to jump. She looked down at it. It growled. She stroked its fur, trying to calm it. Then the cat's fur went from white to black with an odd cross on its forehead. The cat turned into water and then melted away. She couldn't be shocked about that. She just sat there, until there was another knock – louder and more demanding. She stared at the door for a moment before getting up and answering it.

"Lavi" she spoke, and some of the world seemed to come back into focus for a moment.

He pushed his way into the room and shut the door behind him. "Veri, are you okay?" he asked. He looked at her, straight at her. He was trying to see what was wrong with her. She could see it. There was nothing wrong, nothing at all. "Did you figure out who your father was?"

That brought the world crashing back onto her. That was right; she had to figure out who her father was, who killed her mother and why they would all do that. Why her father would leave, why her mother had to die, why she was here, why…why…why…

She felt the world spin and she shook her head. Lavi put his hands on her shoulders and sank to the ground with her. She heard him say her name, ask her if anything was wrong but she was lost, lost in spinning thoughts so she wasn't sure she could answer him.

"England. Mother was in England when she disappeared" she gasped. Lavi's voice stopped.

"What?"

"My mother disappeared looking for some Innocence in a small England town." She remembered what she had read in that book. She remembered reading those records, hours and hours of nothing and then her mother's name. The last location she was known to be at. Then there was nothing after that. She had gotten a clue but never told Lavi. Why? She couldn't remember.

The world seemed to stop spinning and she looked right at Lavi. "We need to go there. Do you know the name of the town?" he asked.

"Yes" she answered. She didn't want to speak again. She wanted to get control of whatever was bothering her. It was like there was someone else inside her, like she wasn't the only one in this body. It was hard, it made her uneasy. She felt like she could lose control soon. She felt like she would. She didn't know what to do about any of this. She wanted to tell Lavi but didn't want him to think her insane.

He helped her up and she let him. "C'mon, we have to get a mission so we can get going. We have a lot to do" he smiled, but the smile promised some mischief. She smiled a little as well, but her smile was troubled. She just hoped that whatever Lavi was planning would work. She needed to figure out who her father was – before that other part of her came back.

_**A Day Later**_

Lavi managed to get Komui to give him and Bookman a mission in England. He just told Komui that he didn't want to go too far and that there might be some events going on there that might be to the Bookman's interest. He was just lucky that Komui didn't ask Bookman. So, with a new band of Finders, plus Verinty, they headed off. It wouldn't take them long to get there but hopefully they'd be able to find some information on Verinty's mother.

Lavi also hoped to find out about her father. Sure maybe humans were idiots but, it was interesting to see why some of them did some things. Verinty, and her family, interested Lavi. He noticed on the train ride there how she varied between distant and right there. Her eyes seemed to flux. It bothered him, a little; once again a part of him was telling himself that it was wrong to study her like this.

Still; he was doing what he had to. Or what he wanted to. What he wanted at the moment was to solve the nagging desire he had to find out exactly who Verinty was.

* * *

A lot of people added this story to their alert list...Which is the only reason I'm putting out another chapter. Really people, if I don't get reviews, I don't add chapters. If I don't know how much you like it, I'm not adding anymore. That's final. Got it? Call me mean and I'll just laugh. Anyway, chapter three is now out of this, as you all can see. Enjoy and _please_ give me a couple reviews? Okay? Okay...I'm off to write more now~


	4. Power

**Silence  
****D Gray Man  
****Power**

The town was old. That was clear from just looking at it. It was small, but homey. Lavi looked around. Verinty was holding onto the elbow of his sleeve, as if she were a child. She looked around, eyes a little wide. She almost looked ill again. He wanted to ask her if she were alright, but not with Bookman so close. He was walking just a ahead of Lavi. The Finders were behind Verinty.

Lavi was in another Exorcist uniform, as was Bookman. The Finders were in the usual white Finder garb but Verinty didn't fit in. She was wearing that odd necklace again and a blue dress that matched the color of her one eye. Her hair was down and sometimes hung in her face, as if she wanted to hide from the world. They managed to convince her to wear slipper like shoes. They matched the dress.

She looked around, she seemed scared of something. The Finders kept looking at her, questioning looks. They didn't know if she was well on not. Lavi knew she was fine…just nervous. She had been that way since the other day. She had hid in her room and when he opened the door he had taken note of the vacancy in her eyes. It was like she hadn't been there at all.

They came to the Inn. Bookman stopped as did everyone else. Verinty ran into Lavi's back and he helped her steady herself. She glared down at her shoes as if it was their fault. Bookman turned to look at them.

"The Finders will come with me so we can look for the Innocence" he said. "Verinty will go with Lavi so she can help him with the Bookman work." He looked at Lavi and Verinty. Lavi knew that he was only helping because he knew that Lavi knew the rules. "Remember Lavi" Didn't mean he wouldn't still remind him.

"Got it Gramps" He said with an easy-going grin. "See you later" he waved to Bookman as he walked off with the Finders and then he looked at Verinty. "I'm going to get us all a room and see what I can find out about this place – and maybe if anyone would remember your mother" She nodded at him. "Wait out here okay?" She nodded again and watched him walk into the inn. She leaned against the wall of the inn and watched the people pass. She focused on each person to keep herself in this world, and not from drifting.

Tyki could see her from where he stood. He was watching her stand there while she watched the people walking past. Her eyes never touched on him though. Some instinct deep inside? Or was she more knowledgeable than anyone ever guessed? He watched her, his eyes sharp, even in his more human appearance. She took a deep breath and shuddered lightly, her eyes going blank. She blinked fast and she was back. She was resisting and he wondering if it was the Innocence in her blood that kept her from being eaten alive by that stronger instinct.

Either way, he approached her, walking across the street to stand in front of her. He looked at her and then her eyes fell on him. She just stared at him, as if she knew who he was for a moment – for a moment she did! – and then she looked wary. She braced herself against the wall, her heartbeat picked up and there was _fear_ in her eyes. Fear for a good reason.

"Don't worry" he said. "I'm not here to hurt you" Her eyes stayed wide and fearful, she did not trust him in the least. He was surprised to say the truth – surprised that she was resisting so well. Most would have given in by now but maybe she was stronger than a regular person. "Do you want to know about your father?"

"My father?" Verinty looked at this strange man again. He knew who her father was? This was important to her. This...this was what she wanted to know more than anything else. Who was her father…and who was she?

"Of course, Verinty, I know your father" He held his hand out for her to take with a charming smile but alarm-bells rang in her head. He knew her name. How could he know her name? She had never met this man before – had she? – so he should not know her name. She suddenly saw, with new eyes, how he was blocking her exit. She quickly ducked under his arm and ran towards the door to the inn. She pushed the door open and fell just inside, tripping over the damnable slippers.

"Veri?" Suddenly someone was helping her up. She leaned against them, tangling her fingers in their shirt, eyes glancing back in case that man came for her. "Veri? Are you alright? Veri what's wrong?"

She looked at Lavi and he looked like he didn't know what was going on. He looked in front of him – behind her – and she looked with him. Nothing, nobody, was there. She trembled, feeling the fear even now. Someone was after her and she had no idea why. She looked up at Lavi, realizing how close she was holding herself to him and pushed away, a bit disgusted with the absolute fear that she had felt, the need to find comfort in another person.

"I'm…fine" she said. She looked back out the door and saw that man for a moment, or thought she did. He frowned and then was gone, as if he had melted into the wall behind him but that was impossible because people could not melt away. She looked at Lavi again. He looked so wary, like he thought she was going crazy or something but then the emotion he had on his face was gone – typical Bookman. "So did you find out anything?" she asked, regaining control over herself. That fear was quickly fading but she was still wary. She would be on the watch now, for anyone who could hurt her or make her fear everything like that man did.

"Err…Yeah" Lavi still sounded put off. Verinty quickly smoothed some of her hair back and tried to look less freaked out – more calm like she hadn't been scared at all. "I have the addresses of a few people who might have come in contact with your mother. That nice young woman over there says her parents' close friends may know something" He gestured over to a woman who looked maybe in her early twenties.

Verinty looked at her; she was pretty with dark hair and even darker eyes. Her lips were ruby red and her pale skin had a nice rose color to it. Verinty crossed her arms. She didn't know why she felt awkward but she did. She did her best to ignore it. She didn't want to deal with it.

"Alright, let's go see them" she said. Lavi led the way out of the Inn and Verinty followed close behind. Even with Lavi so near she couldn't help but glance around to see if that man was watching them.

"What do you tell them?" The young woman with dark hair and eyes glanced at a man who had a dark look in his eye. He had dark eyes but blonde hair. She knew by _them_ the man must have meant the boy who had flattered her a little and maybe the girl who had come running in here. The woman pressed her lips together.

"Why do you want to know?" she asked.

"It's important." The man said, clearly not wanting to make small talk or waste time.

"Just what they asked." She answered. She smiled at the man and followed him as he motioned for her to follow him, as she knew he would. They walked into a room in the Inn where a child was sitting on the lap of a man, attempting to braid his hair. He gave an angry cry and tried to push her gently away but she just laughed, digging her nails into his arms. They both looked up as the two newcomers entered the room.

"Oh, so you told them?" asked the man who was still holding the spiky-haired girl at bay.

"Of course Tyki" replied the woman. "You know my family and I are very loyal to the Earl" She curtsied. The blonde-haired male's form shifted and changed into a woman with long hair and sunglasses on. She took those glasses off and walked over to the open chair.

"LuluBell…" Tyki started. "Do you know the girl's condition?"

"Fighting" Answered LuluBell. "Master will not be happy"

"She can't fight forever" sang the girl and she jumped off Tyki's lap. "So, Alina" she addressed the woman.

"Yes Road?"

"What about the Exorcist with the eye patch? Is he going to be a problem?"

"He's a Bookman" Road suddenly smiled.

"Excellent! This is going to be so fun! Oh Tyki can I have a turn again? Please?" She turned to Tyki. Even though she sounded like she was asking permission they all knew it was the same as her say that she _was_ going to be the next to go encounter Verinty.

"Have fun Road, but don't hurt her" Road turned to look at him, her golden eyes gleaming.

"Oh Tyki, you know that I don't break my toys _right_ away" She grinned and Tyki suppressed a shudder. Then she pranced out the door looking quite pleased with herself. Tyki looked at the others in the room.

"We better hurry or LuluBell will be right and the Master will not be pleased" He rose and so did LuluBell. They walked past Alina and out the door. She hesitated only for a moment before she followed them.

The house that they now sat in was homey, but a bit cramped. It was tiny and there seemed to be too many pictures on the walls. Lavi knew that pictures were a person's way of remembering this or that, but the walls were covered with them in this home. It almost seemed to press on them. He looked at the elderly couple in front of him. The young woman had given him a few places they could check, this of course was t he first place.

"So, do you remember an Exorcist coming here about sixteen years ago?" asked Lavi. Verinty had one picture of her and her mother. She held it out. The old man, who didn't really look all that old, took it. He looked at it for a moment and passed it on to his wife who looked strong as well. Her hair was long and braided tightly while the man still had a full head of hair and a hard gaze.

"I remember a woman like that. Why are you asking about her?" said the man. Verinty took her picture back. The man looked at her. "You're clearly the girl in the picture…why don't you know about her?"

Verinty didn't answer, instead she looked at Lavi. "She…the woman in the picture died recently and this girl here is her only child. We're looking for her father." He explained.

"Hmm" The man looked at his wife. Then he leaned in close to the two young ones sitting across from him. "Alright, we're not supposed to tell you this, but there is something deeper going on that you two understand. We can't tell you anything about her father, but you should go see this person" He pointed to the third person down on Lavi's list. "The woman there – Erica – she knows all about that. She was Rebecca's best friend"

"You knew my mother?" asked Verinty.

The man smiled. "This is her hometown. I'm her uncle" Then he leaned back and stood, glancing around as if he were afraid that someone was watching them. "Now you two better go. Hurry and see Erica before it's too late"

"Wait" Verinty said. Lavi started to drag her up, as if he were going to drag her out. "What is your name?"

"Robert" the man answered. "This is my wife Selene" He motioned to the woman. "We have lived here a long time and knew what Rebecca was up to when she met that man, when she came back here" He sighed. "We knew but we didn't stop her because we didn't think we _could_."

"We wanted to help her, so when she left and told us everything…We kept it a secret. We knew they were watching so we never opened our mouths – until now" Selene looked at Verinty, fragile and old but strong and willful. "We can't tell you anymore. But you must hurry Verinty. There are more secrets that you know. More than we know. You have to find out the truth before it's too late. Now go." She pointed to the door, her mouth straightening into a thin, hard line. Verinty nodded and dashed out the door, almost leaving Lavi behind.

He ran easily beside her, not saying a word about how she seemed to need to hurry. Maybe he felt the urgency pressing down on her, making her steps seem heavy and slow. She ran and Lavi only spoke to nudge her this way or that. No one stared at them; they parted for them, seemingly knowing why they were there without having to ask.

When they finally got to Erica's house Verinty stopped at the door. It was half raised to knock but there was something making her dizzy. She swayed and then pushed open the door without knocking. The house silent and deathly cold. Lavi walked in behind Verinty, looking around, looking wary. She barely noticed how he held his hammer in his hand.

They walked, their feet barely making any noise as they walked as silent as they could. Then they came to the kitchen. It was almost a heartwarming scene, there was fresh fruit in a bowl on the table, a pot filled with water that was ready for tea, the window was open letting in a warm breeze. On the ground was a woman, more fruit around her, blood leaking around the oranges and the apples that lay around her blood-dyed blonde hair. She was pretty, or at least had been. Candles, that still burned, lined the length of her body, pinning her into the ground. The one in her head was stabbed through her eye.

Verinty just stood there and looked at her. She had to be dead but then the body – the woman shuddered.

"I thought you would…never come" she whispered.

Verinty collapsed on her knees by her head, her voice was so soft! Too soft! She almost couldn't hear her. She leaned down to hear her. She needed to hear what she was saying!

"That man…your mother…loved him so…" her words cut off and she coughed, blood spitting from her lips. Lavi hurried to Verinty's side and crouched down by her looking at the woman.

"She…can't survive these wounds" He muttered, his eyes trailing down the length of her body, since the last candle was stuck in her ankle in a way that looked absolutely painful. All of her wounds did, it was horrible. Too horrible but Verinty only wanted to know his name! She had to find him!

"Ver…Verinty…?" the woman muttered. "Is that…your name? Is that…who you are?" she asked. Verinty nodded, desperate for more information. "Listen then. You want…to find the…Tru…truth!" her words suddenly got stronger. "You…Don't ever think for a moment, no matter…what anyone says…that your mother and…and father did not…love…each other. He did…use her…he'll use you, but…still. He was a great man but…they…He is still in this…world somewhere. Find that man…Find him Verinty, before _they_ do. They'll…kill…him…" Then she closed her one good eye.

"Wait!" Verinty called. "W-What…What is his name?" she asked. She placed her hands down into the blood and leaned down. "Don't die without helping me more! Please!" She waited but she knew it was already too late. She slammed her fists down in the blood, splattering the shallow puddle against her arms, staining them red.

Lavi helped her up, pulling her away from the dead woman, Erica. "We need to call someone to clean this up. Let's call your uncle" She felt a need to see the old man again and with a horrified jolt she realized that he might be dead now too. She nodded and looked for a phone there was one sitting on the counter.

"We don't know his number" she whispered.

"I got it already, don't worry" He walked over to the phone, carefully staying away from the pool of blood and the body. Verinty looked down at Erica's empty shell and she felt no pity for the woman she did not know, that she never would. The woman had _known_ about her father but did not tell her enough. If only they had gotten there a moment sooner…She looked down at herself, she was covered in blood. Her legs, her dress, her hands and a bit of her arms.

Lavi had the phone up to his ear and his face was troubled. "No one is picking up" he muttered. Then she could see as he came to the same conclusion as she had. He threw a dish towel to her. "Clean yourself up!" he ordered. She wiped off her arms and her legs and tried to smear as much off of her dress as she could.

Then they hurried out the front door again. They both knew that something bad may have happened to Robert and Selene. Verinty hoped, she hoped with all her heart, that nothing did. Selene had been so sweet, Robert may have been gruff but he had been kind and told her a told her more than he should have. Did he tell her at the cost of his life? They ran as fast as they could but when they slammed open the door to the elderly couple's home and felt the bone-chilling air they knew that they were too late.

Verinty shook her head and leaned against the door frame. These two had been the last known family she had – and she had just found out that they were family! She looked at Lavi for a moment and he nodded, drawing his hammer once again. "Wait here" he said. He walked into the dim house. It was easier to deal with this as the sun beat against her back. A few minutes later he walked back out and shook his head. "We better call someone to clean this one up too"

They did. Verinty couldn't watch when they carried Robert and Selene's empty shells from the house. Lavi shielded her from sight. He had told her that she didn't need to see that. She was thankful for Lavi's presence then. It was a good thing that he was there, that he was keeping her from sight. She didn't want to see. He had to know that, Bookman or not.

They went back to the Inn then. They did not want to go to the other house for fear that there would be more bodies. They handed the list to the police and told them to check all the houses on the list, that all the people there may have been killed. It was horrific, and neither Lavi nor Verinty wanted anything more to do with death that day. Verinty needed a bath. She felt disgusting, covered in blood. She couldn't help but feel that these deaths were her fault – her fault for wanting to know something that someone else didn't _want_ her to know. So she just wanted a bath, and to go to sleep for a long, long, long time.

They entered the Inn again and Verinty didn't look at a soul. She didn't want to look, to see or to feel anymore. She just wanted a moment to herself, a moment to cry, a moment to break down for just a little while. She shook her head again and stumbled. Lavi helped her up again and she felt him pause.

"Wait for me here Veri. That girl from earlier is back" Verinty looked up and that girl that Lavi had talked to before was back, she was waving for Lavi to come over. Verinty watched him walk over to her and then looked away, not caring anymore. Why should she care? He was just a Bookman. Most of the things he did weren't real. He didn't really care for her; he just wanted the information about her father. Verinty knew this. She wasn't stupid, though the fact that he gave her that annoying nickname would have a lot of people thinking otherwise. It was all just a part of his act. He was a smart kid all and all. He made a good ally in all of this but she wondered if he'd stick around until the end now, what with all the death that seemed to be coming at them. Three deaths today. It was sick. How many more would follow?

Then, for no reason she knew, she turned her head to look towards a hallway that lead to a small public dining area. There stood a girl with spiky hair and bright golden eyes. She was dressed to make herself look cute, and how Verinty knew that, she couldn't tell. She was holding a lollypop and just stood there, leaning against the doorframe watching her.

Before Verinty knew what was happening, she felt her will fading; everything fading until only instinct remained. The girl smiled, wide and frightening and although Verinty was afraid she took a step towards the girl. And another. And another. Her body was no longer hers to control, she was just walking towards the girl, no will to stop herself but she had no will to even go to the girl to begin with.

Lavi was only talking to the young woman again because she really seemed to want to talk to him. She seemed urgent about it. Like she had something important to tell him. He was sure it would turn out to be nothing at all. As soon as he was by her side she looked away from him, behind him. He tried to turn but she caught his arm.

"Where are you going cutie?" she asked. "I thought you might like to treat me to dinner" She smiled at him. He ripped his arm away from her and turned around just in time to see Verinty walking towards the dining area.

"Veri!" He hurried after her. "Verinty where are you going?" She seemed to disappear until he saw a door to an outside ally. He flung open the door and hurried outside. He didn't see her at first. Then he did. She was holding the hand of a child with spiky hair and golden eyes. The girl looked up at Lavi, but it was so dark he couldn't see her expression clearly enough. She looked…annoyed. Then she smiled.

"Look Verinty" the girl said, in a pleasant voice that sounded like she was about to play the best game ever. "Your friend has come back. Why don't you show him what you can do now?" Lavi didn't know how to reply. He just looked at the girl.

Then Verinty turned to him. Her eyes seemed distance, so far away and they were blank of any emotion at all. The girl handed her something, a piece of paper, and Verinty turned that blank stare to the paper. Lai had no idea what she was doing but suddenly instinct told him that something bad was about to happen. He just had no idea what it was. He took a step back, but the door behind him slammed shut. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up.

He had an even worse feeling now.

Then Verinty began to read what was on the paper. Her voice was liquid and smooth, the words flowing from her tongue in a beautiful rhythm. Lavi's mouth almost popped open because he had not expected her voice to sound like that as she read. It was amazing and all he could do was listen without saying a word as she read;

"_The future Bookman Lavi stood yet, unknowing of his fate. Without any warning, a root would break through the ground and wrap around Lavi's feet and ankles, keeping him still. One would wrap around his body, hugging him in a deathly embrace to cover his mouth so he would be silent. Then when he was bound and gagged, the paper would drop softly from my fingers so that that I may kill him, with the dagger that has appeared in my hand. The dagger would be beautiful, silver and bright blue, a gem of tears on the end of its handle and wicked sharp. It would take only one quick movement to kill a person with this dagger and it is why, I have called on it_"

The last word was barely out of her mouth before a root crashing through the ground to wrap around his feet. He cried out or at least tried to. A root wrapped up around his body, keeping his arms at his sides and then slapped over his mouth, keeping him from talking. He felt the ends of the roots shifting through his hair. He felt the fear clench in his stomach, hard. He usually didn't fear anything but this was something straight out of a nightmare.

She had read what was going to happen and it did…did that mean…? He watched her and she dropped the paper, it filtered to the ground and then a dagger, just as the one she had described, appeared into her lightly tanned hand. She held it up, ready to stab him and the little girl clapped her hands, grinning.

"I hope your blood is bright red!" she squealed. Verinty stopped.

"Blood?" she asked. Then she fell to her knees. She stood up again and whirled around. "You!" she screamed the word. "_You killed them!_" The little girl laughed again. "Don't laugh! You killed my-"

"Oh what were they to you Verinty?" asked the girl. Lavi felt shock that the girl knew Verinty's name but he decided to stay silent and listen. "They were _nothing_! You didn't even know that they existed before you came here and they _told_ you!"

"Shut up!" Verinty's voice was thick with anger. It boiled off her.

"Don't be stupid Verinty. I know your secrets and I know what you're hiding and guess what? So does your friend! You showed him your power and he _has_ to tell the others because that is what Bookmen do!" She grinned, showing too-sharp teeth. He wondered what she meant by power, but then he remembered he was encased in roots.

"Sh-Shut up!" Verinty threw the dagger in her anger and it hit the girl's shoulder. Blood splattered but her shoulder healed quickly to Lavi's surprise.

"Don't worry Verinty. We'll be back for you. After all…you belong to us more than them." A door rose from the ground and the girl grinned right at Lavi. "Have fun with her, Bookman" then she stepped through the door. It faded as soon as she was gone. Verinty stayed where she was and then she picked up the paper again. She searched around on the ground until she found a pen. She used the wall and wrote on the paper.

"_The vines released him. He was free again. The dagger disappeared as did the blood, so it was as if nothing ever happened_" She looked at him and tossed the paper on the ground. The dagger disappeared and the roots released him, letting him move again. The few splatters of blood were gone too. He walked to her and picked up the paper, reading over the words scrawled onto it.

"It was you" he said. She looked away.

"You can't tell them" she hissed.

"Just who are you Verinty?" he asked, not really directing it to her. He flipped the paper over but she hit it out of his hand.

"I'm a freak" she growled and then she went into the inn, slamming the door behind her. Lavi bit his lip. This was an odd situation, one that he did not know what to do in. On one hand, he could tell the Order of Verinty's 'power', if one could call it that, and they would most likely experiment on her. He could also keep it a secret from everyone and continue on aiding her. He could be her ally. He only had to think for one more moment to make his choice.

After all, he did want to know just who she was, didn't he?

* * *

I know this is a late coming chapter and I'm really sorry. I've been too busy lately. Thank you everyone who gave me reviews for the last chapter and thank you all so much for waiting! I look forward to seeing more reviews to urge me on just a bit more! Thank you all once again and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Change

**Silence  
****D Gray Man  
****Change**

Lavi and Verinty sat next to each other on the train. They were already on their way back to the Order. Lavi reported to Bookman that all their leads had lead to dead ends…or dead people. Bookman seemed almost interested now. He glanced at Verinty now as she looked out the window of the train. She turned her head, suddenly and returned his gaze. With a huff, she stood up and walked away from them, to go walk to the next car and back like she had three or four times now. She seemed almost angry now. Lavi knew she was just confused. Her long dark hair was tangled around her that day, making her look stressed. He couldn't do anything to help her though, she wouldn't let him. She kept herself away from him now, like there was a steel wall in between them. He didn't know why she kept doing that, sealing herself away from everyone else.

Didn't she know she couldn't do this alone?

Lavi waited for her to come back. He hadn't really talked to her much since they left the town. She refused to talk to him. She acted like he was going to tell the whole world her secret. He didn't even know how to begin to tell anyone, which was why he hadn't even told Bookman yet. Verinty was very untrusting though.

She came back, eyed Lavi, her dual-colored eyes untrusting and then she sat in her seat, right next to him, without a word. She looked back out the window and ignored the two men. Lavi sighed. Were most sixteen year old girls like this? He didn't really know because he liked older women. They were more mature and had more knowledge on the world. Knowledge was Lavi's game so of course he liked them older than himself. Bookmen were strongly discouraged from seeking romantic relationships though. That was why when he flirted; he never really meant much of it. Sure he could tell a woman she was pretty, and it'd be true, but it didn't mean he was interested in her.

Of course, he did like a pretty face a little more than he should.

He sighed to himself, thinking. There had been that woman back in the village. She seemed more interested in him that she should have. She tried to stop Lavi from going to Verinty when he thought she needed him. He wasn't protective of Verinty, no; he just didn't want her to die when he still had a lot to learn. Verinty wanted to learn more as well. So, he figured it'd be best for her not to get kidnapped or to die or whatever. That would be negative to their hard work.

Verinty looked over at him, her dark hair falling over her golden eye. For a moment she looked normal, like a pretty girl with dark hair, tanned skin and blue eyes. For a moment, Lavi could almost believe that was her. Then she flipped her hair from her eyes, her golden eye shining bright and looked away from him. He almost wished she were a normal girl. The world would be easier on her. There was something about her that seemed to show rejection or at least that she was an outcast of some sort. Lavi didn't know what but it was in the air around her.

What would drive a girl of her age to be an outcast? Lavi couldn't name many things that could and they all seemed very unlikely. He went through them again. He couldn't find a reason that would stick. Every single reason was too odd or just plain stupid. He gritted his teeth for a moment, frustrated. How could her secrets be so hard to figure out? She was a child! _A child!_ How could a mere child have so many secrets?

_But Bookmen have a lot of secrets too Lavi…_ a voice in his head whispered. _You have a lot of secrets…_

He knew the voice was true, but he didn't really want to listen to it. He wanted to relax, so he let his thoughts wander for a moment. He thought of the woman they had found, Erica. He wondered why she had told Verinty what she did. Why was the fact that Rebecca loved 'that man' so important? And who was 'that man'? Lavi wished they had been quicker, able to get there before she had been mutilated. He shuddered. Even as a Bookman, as a person who would see war, after war, after war, after war, he did not want to see people…mutilated…like that. It was a horror.

He looked at Verinty again; she was looking out the window, her hands in her lap, clenched into fists. She looked so unhappy. Would she be happier if she knew the truth about her birth? What if her father was some kind of villain? Or worse, what if he were dead? How would she find out the answers she sought after?

Though the way Erica had talked, he was still alive and somewhere out in the world. Had he come in contact with her? He gnawed on his lip, trying to think it all through. He didn't know what this all meant but he wanted to figure it out, almost as badly as Verinty did. His reasons were different though. He hated unsolved mysteries. Bookman wanted to know anyway, but Lavi figured that Bookman knew more than he was telling. He wished Bookman would just tell him. Stupid old Panda.

He tried not to think of anything else for the rest of the train ride, which was rather hard. His thoughts were spinning. He couldn't think of anything that would help them slow. Finally Verinty touched his arm. He looked at her, his single remaining eye shocked. She brushed her fingers on his arm and then moved her hand back to her lap. How did she know…?

He spent the rest of the trip pondering that, aware that Bookman was watching him with interested eyes. He wondered what Bookman was seeing. Was there anything to see? Lavi thought no so he closed his eyes and leaned back against the seat, hoping to sleep away his thoughts for a little while.

He woke up to someone shaking his arm. He looked over at Verinty, her hair was a bit messier and she looked like she just woke up. "Lavi! Bookman's gone and we're not at our stop yet!" her voice was worried.

"I'm sure the old Panda just stepped out to smoke" grumbled Lavi, tired and wanting to get back to sleeping. She shook him again, harder. He sat up then and rubbed his eye. She looked afraid. Her hands were trembling where the clutched his shirt. He blinked. "Are you alright?"

"I had a nightmare" her voice was so small. He looked at her, her eyes wide with fear, and her trembling hands. He took her tiny hands in his bigger ones. She was still trembling. What kind of nightmare could have scared her so bad?

"It was only a dream, you'll be alright" he promised. He just wanted to comfort her as best he could. He couldn't get attached to people, because he was a Bookman. That was a rule. He wasn't allowed to get attached to anyone, but it didn't mean he couldn't be _helpful_ did it? He was Verinty's ally. She needed him.

That thought shocked him and he almost jerked away from the younger girl. She looked up at him, her lip in set low as she frowned. He looked at her and she bowed her head. "I just got nervous when Bookman was missing…it seemed so real, so scary…" she bit her lip.

"It's alright Verinty. I'm sure you won't have the same dream twice" he said, hoping to appease her. She seemed to believe him on some level. She wasn't trembling as much now; she just looked down at their hands. He looked down too. Her hands were so much darker than his pale ones. Her tan was even, on both sides of her hands, up her arms, on her face, her legs and even on her feet, her skin was the same tanned shade. "Were you born this way?" he asked.

She shrugged. "I've been this tan as long as I can remember."

"This tan?" he asked.

"Yes. The same exact shade. My mother was pale, so I always figured that I got it…from my father!" her words were exclaimed and her eyes brightened a little.

"Do you really think it came from your father? It could be from your grandfather or grandmother…" He didn't want to crush her hopes, but he didn't want to encourage them. They could be fruitless. Her eyes dimed a little and she turned her hands over, looking at them with a sigh.

"I guess you're right" she said. She closed her eyes, closing her hands and just sat there. There was silence before Bookman came back and took his seat again. She opened her eyes and scooted away from Lavi, looking out the window again. She curled against herself and ignored the two men. Lavi sighed, looked at Bookman and then up at the roof of the train. He supposed he should try to get some sleep again but he had a feeling it wouldn't come for a while.

Wasn't that just his luck?

Verinty stepped off the boat and back into the Order. She wasn't happy to be back, but she had nowhere else to go. Until she found another lead, she would stay here. When she found one, there would be an excuse for her and Lavi to travel there. She wondered if this pattern would rule her life now.

She wasn't sure if it was the way she wanted to live her life.

She wondered what was so wrong with her father that he left. He was still alive so if someone was trying to kill him they hadn't succeeded. Why couldn't he come and get her? Erica had said that he wanted to use her. What would her father use her for? What could be his purpose? If it was anything with fighting it, she knew the bare minimum of fighting. Her mother had taught her very little saying;

"If it comes to a fight with the people we are running from, we lose from the moment they step onto the battlefield."

Who could be that powerful? It scared her a little. She followed after Lavi, ducking down behind him. He glanced back at her and he seemed annoyed but she ignored it. She didn't know why but she trusted no one here. Not even Lavi, her only ally, the only person who had ever helped her other than her mother. She had barely any people skills. Their actions, how they looked at her and even some emotions were foreign to her. How was she to know? She had spent all of her life running from some fear that she could not name and that her mother would not name for her!

She felt annoyed and worst of all she felt used. Used by her mother and used by the man who was her father. A man she did not even know! Even the people in that town…She was sure that many of them knew exactly who she was. Why would they not talk? Because they would die? She was selfish enough not to care. All that ran through her mind was the desire to know the truth about her father – the truth about herself.

Her power – if one could call what she could do a power – it had not come from her mother. She was not an Exorcist and her power was not of Innocence. She had no idea what caused her power or how she could warp the world with only her words, but she could. Her voice – the voice she so rarely used – was her weapon, it was her blade. She was strong because of that voice or could be at the very least. She had to choose to use the power.

"Welcome back Lavi!"

A voice brought her out of her trance and she looked up to see Lenalee. She was smiling and holding a tray with steaming cups of coffee on it. Her hair was down and combed straight. She looked pretty and Verinty looked away from her.

"Did you have a nice trip Bookman?" she asked, smiling at the shorter older man. She looked at the Finders, greeting them each in turn and then she finally looked at Verinty. Verinty looked back, her dual colored eyes hiding her emotions. "Hi Verinty"

"Hi" she answered, lifting her hand in an imitation of a wave. She dropped her hand, feeling awkward. She looked down at her feet and then back at Lenalee. She was no longer looking at Verinty. Lenalee was now chatting cheerfully with Lavi. They were walking away now, talking and smiling. Verinty stood there watching, the scene seemed complete without her. Part of her wanted to turn around and walk away. It was like she didn't deserve to be a part of the Order.

Then again she wasn't.

She was merely Bookman's guest. She was with Bookman and Lavi. They were a part of the Order, but she wasn't. She was just there. Just nothing. It made her want to step back, get back on the boat and go someplace else.

"Veri!"

She looked up and saw Lavi waiting for her, with Lenalee just a step ahead of him. She stood there and just watched him for a moment before hurrying after him. "What were you doing Veri? We gotta take the Innocence to Hevlaska!" He grabbed her arm, like they were friends and tugged her along.

"No need to just go be by yourself Verinty" Lenalee added. "You can go with Lavi, I know he's your friend"

She pressed her lips together as Lenalee said that. Was she such a blind girl? Verinty supposed it was for the best. Let others think that she and Lavi were close. It would be easier than to say that the two of them were merely using each other. Lavi was using her for information and she was using Lavi to find her father. Neither of them knew how long this would work but they were going to use each other as long as they could.

"Oh…sorry" she said, her voice soft. She wasn't sure how to act. She wasn't even sure if she should be sorry. She just said it because she felt like there was nothing else to say. Lenalee smiled at her, over the steaming cups.

"It's alright. You'll get used to everything soon enough" She started to slow and Lavi did too. Verinty automatically slowed her steps to match theirs. It was the right thing to do right? "Well, gotta take this coffee to brother!" she smiled again. Verinty wasn't sure if her smiles were real or fake. She was pretty when she smiled though and Verinty was jealous. Lavi smiled back at her.

"See you later Lenalee" Lavi waved to her. Verinty didn't move.

"Hope everything goes well!" She turned and walked down another hallway branching off from the one they were at. Verinty watched her go for a moment before Lavi actually let go of her arm, which had still been holding. She hadn't realized it before, but his hands were warm.

"C'mon Veri" He started down the hall again. She trudged after him.

"My name is _Verinty_" she said, annoyance making her tone snap. He threw a grin in her direction.

"But Veri sounds so much cuter!" She could hear the flirty, but teasing tone in his voice but she still felt her face flash red.

"I…I'm…!" she tried to stutter out a comeback but none came. "Ugh! Men!" she grunted stomping past him. She heard him chuckle but then start after her. She heard his footsteps as he hurried to reach her.

He touched her arm and she stopped turning to face him. "What?" she snapped, her face still burning. She didn't know if he could tell or not with her even tan. She was hoping he couldn't.

"I was just teasing you. Don't get mad" he said, smiling. She glared at him for a moment and then turned back towards where they had been walking before.

"Whatever" she snapped and then started to walk. He kept pace with her, hands in his pockets. In his one pocket was the box that contained the Innocence. The rest of the walk was in silence, though that didn't bother Verinty. She didn't like to talk much anyway. She rather just keep silent and not use her voice…her now dangerous voice.

They walked to a bridge where an elevator was waiting for them. Komui was on the elevator. He did not seem surprised to see her there. He smiled and then said. "Welcome home you too. If I don't see him first, please extend that to Bookman as well will you?" They got on the elevator.

"Of course Komui!" replied Lavi. "I'll probably see the old panda first though!" He and Komui laughed like they were old friends. Verinty just stood by Lavi's side, as if she were mute. She glanced at the two Finders that were also on the elevator. Then it started up as Komui pulled on a lever.

It didn't move at a sickening speed but it was still more than Verinty was used to. She clung to the railing, her face paling and she felt ill. Lavi glanced over at her and then touched her shoulder, looking concerned – but was he? She knew she could never trust a Bookman…or a Bookman in training. She waited for it to stop and when it did, she clung to the railing a few seconds longer before following everyone else off the dreaded contraption.

She followed them to stand before some odd creature that was huge. The only thing she could really see of it was the fact that it had lips. Willows of almost what appeared to be hair floated around it and it glowed slightly. Verinty swallowed hard and started to back away.

"Don't…be af..raid" it whispered, words broken. She stopped, frozen to the spot. She looked up at the creature.

"Verinty, this is Hevlaska." Komui said. "She's been with us since the Order has been founded" He motioned to the creature. Verinty bowed stiffly to the creature.

"It's a pleasure" she whispered, unable to raise her voice any higher.

Komui turned to Hevlaska next. "This is Verinty Whispers, Rebecca Whisper's daughter. Rebecca is reportedly dead and Verinty's father is missing, nor do we know exactly who he is." Hevlaska looked at Verinty then.

"May I…see…?"

"See what?" Asked Verinty looking up at her but she didn't get anything else out when the tendrils of what appeared to be hair wrapped around Verinty and seemed to just brush against her. Verinty didn't like the contact and she struggled. She felt like she would scream when Hevlaska finally put her down.

"She...has no Innocence in her…" Then Hevlaska turned to Lavi. "You…have it?" He held up the box and the Innocence shot out of it. The Innocence entered her body and disappeared. Verinty didn't approach the edge to see what happened to it. She was still a little shaken. Lavi glanced back at her and she just focused on moving her hair out of her face.

"So there's another piece of Innocence!" Lavi sounded cheerful. Hevlaska seemed troubled. She turned to look at Verinty again.

"You…don't look…like…her"

"Who?" asked Verinty.

"Rebecca" she answered.

Verinty's world seemed to stop. "What?" she asked. "What do you mean by that? I look _plenty_ like my mother! I have….have…her eyes…her blue eye!"

"Your…blue is too bright…to be Rebecca's."

Verinty's eyes widened and she felt the tears prick her eyes but she swallowed hard, balling her fists and glared at Hevlaska. "You don't know my mother! You don't know _me_!" she said, not seeming to be able to scream, her words were just said. She didn't want her voice to become a weapon.

"Your mother's Innocence…was parasite type…She didn't like to use it…" Verinty knew that was true. She remembered her mother's tales about the Innocence inside her skin. How unstable her mother sometimes felt it was and how sometimes, she felt like she wasn't supposed to use it anymore. "You…don't look…like her…"

"How can you say that…" she unclenched her fists "…even if it is true?" With that she whipped around and ran past Lavi back to the goddamn elevator. She stood on it, the Finders looking at her curiously as she struggled not to cry.

Lavi saw Verinty back to her room and she didn't speak to him he walked her there and she didn't speak to him even if he said anything to her. She seemed in a trance – or at the very least she was really upset about what had been said to her. Lavi could kind of see why.

Verinty had grown up with her mother. Her mother had raised her, as a single parent and as Verinty's only protection against fears that she couldn't name, even now. Verinty had depended on her mother, more than anything or anyone. She was dead now, but Lavi could see that she wanted to be more like her mother rather than the father she never knew. She was upset because she was nothing like her mother.

Lavi almost felt truly bad for her. Almost, but he couldn't let himself feel bad for her. A Bookman shouldn't _feel_ at all. So he kept himself quiet as they kept on walking to her room. He saw her to the door and waited until it closed behind her before he turned and walked away.

"_Verinty, it's been a long time"_

"_You've been denying us, haven't you?"_

"_We're who you belong to"_

"_You can't hide from the truth"_

"_You can't deny yourself"_

"_Come with us, Verinty"_

"_COME TO US"_

Verinty bolted upright in bed. Her hair stuck to her face, her body was covered with sweat, her limbs trembled and she could feel the tears in her eyes. She grabbed her head and rocked in bed for a little while. She wasn't aware of anything until her door opened.

"Veri?"

She didn't look up. She felt like she was choking.

"Veri! What's wrong?" she felt hands on her, stroking her hair back, trying to comfort..or drag her into the darkness…like those things in her nightmare. Nightmare…It was only a Nightmare, it was only a bad dream, none of it was real…

"…I'll be alright now…it was only a Nightmare…Only a bad dream, only a dream" she was suddenly aware of how she was babbling out loud. Lavi looked worried about her. He still wore his eye patch, even at night. He just watched her. He was sitting on the edge of her bed, one hand on her head.

Without really realizing what she was doing she leaned her head into his chest and tried to control her breathing, tried to control everything that was going on. Her head was spinning and she was afraid. Fear was eating at her, she was so scared. She'd never been so scared before.

"_Come with us, Verinty"_

The shadows in her room never seemed so uninviting so she clung to Lavi's shirt, burying her face in the soft fabric, struggling not to scream. Lavi's hand stroked her hair back from her face. She didn't hear him utter a word though, she didn't know if he even offered her any words of comfort. She just stayed with him as he rocked her lightly in his arms. After a little while she felt herself start to relax and her she felt tired again. She felt Lavi sigh and start to untangle her from his arms. She dug her nails into his shirt, closing her eyes tight.

"Please"

She felt him stiffen for a moment and then he wrapped his arms around her again and laid down, her snuggled into his chest. She didn't know why he was staying with her, maybe because he thought her pathetic. Either way, she didn't want to be alone. It felt good to be in his arms. It felt good to be so close to him. He was her ally. He was all she really had.

She closed her eyes, her fingers still tangled in his shirt. His breathing was a little above calm, but that couldn't bother her. She was just happy that she wasn't alone. She kept her head tucked against his chest, where she could hear his heartbeat. She felt herself relax, she felt safe from the nightmare and the voices in it.

"Thank you" she whispered.

Then she fell asleep. No dreams bothered her.

In the morning she felt like crap, but she knew that wasn't because of the lack of sleep. It was because she had slept with Lavi in her bed last night. He was gone when she woke up, but the very fact bothered her. She had to rely on someone else.

Even if it were for a nightmare, it was still bothersome. She wasn't a child anymore. She didn't need to be coddled. She figured Lavi though her weak now. If he said one thing about it in front of anyone else she would hit him.

She curled into a ball on her bed, not wanting to get up. She just laid there for a long while…She didn't want to go and face Lavi. She knew he'd say something. She didn't want to hear how she was weak. She didn't need to hear it. She already knew.

The door opened.

"Veri…You didn't come down for breakfast. Jerry was worried so he had me bring a plate up to you" She didn't look at Lavi. "Hey Verinty are you okay?" His voice seemed worried. She sat up, stood and walked across the room and hurried to take the tray from him.

He let go of it as she pulled it from his fingers. She turned and stalked away again then. She sat on her bed, balancing the tray on her lap and then started to eat the food without even looking at him. She felt heat rise in her cheeks and she was thankful that she was tan and he would most likely be unable to see the red in her cheeks.

"Are you okay?" he asked again. She looked up at him. His visible green eye looked a bit concerned.

"Last night…shouldn't of happen" she said, then she took a bite of her bread.

"Last night…? Oh you mean when you freaked out because of some nightmare and I stayed with you?" he was smiling and she growled through her teeth. "It was nothing Verinty. You wanted comfort. It's something all humans want."

She almost said 'What if I'm not human?' but she held herself back. "Whatever" she sniffed, drinking some of the fruit juice she had.

Lavi hesitated before coming to sit on the edge of her bed. He didn't touch her or even look at her but just sat there. She realized that she was getting used to his company as he was to hers. For a strange reason it didn't bother her, though she knew it should of.

So she ate her breakfast in silence while Lavi waited for her to be done.

Alina had to go home.

The Earl wanted her to; it was where she was needed.

There was a lot to be done in a very short period of time and the Earl expected her to do it. It was her job, it was the reason she was saved. She would do anything for the Earl. Her devotion was uncanny and as she entered her house and shut the door behind her, she could almost feel him watching her through his Akuma.

He was making sure that she did not betray him.

Which was silly….Why would she betray the one person who could give her everything she wanted?

* * *

Sorry it took so long! I lost my flashdrive for a while and this story was on it! So I obviously found it so heres the next chapter of Silence! I actually have the rest of the story planned out, to the last chapter. Alina will be playing a big part in the next few chapters, so thats why theres that little part about her at the bottom. As for the nightmares...well I'm going to have some fun with them!

Give me some reviews please!


	6. Nightmares

**Silence  
****D Gray Man  
****Nightmares**

_The black and white checker board extended in both directions. The horizon was too far off, so far off. The sky above was black, unnatural. It was all unnatural. This she knew but she ignored as she walked forward, stepping lightly, her feet bare. She felt, rather than heard, the presence behind her. She turned and saw a shape bulging out of the checkerboard. She took a step back, not afraid but wary. The shape started to take on meaning until it was a young girl with spiky black hair, a wide sharp-toothed grin and yellow glowing circles for eyes. She looked rather like a doll with parts of her seemingly stitched on, and it looked like there was stitching coming down her face, through her eyes._

_She was creepy and her smile, which seemed eternal, put her off. _

_The creepy girl stepped towards her and she found herself taking a step back only to bump into someone behind her. She turned quick, dark hair whipping through the air. The man behind her was tall, with a face like the girl's but his black hair was curly and tied up behind his head. He was smiling, just a smirk. It didn't show the teeth she knew would be sharp. _

_She moved away from him only to turn and see an even bigger man, all muscle standing there, his hair spiky. He held a lollypop in his hand and was licking it, his sharp teeth flashing as he did. She swallowed a scream and turned to see another two. One had messy black hair and the other had long blonde hair. They held golden pistols, which they pointed carelessly at each other. She pushed past them and started to run only to stop as another woman appeared. Her hair was trimmed short in the front and then ran down her back. Her mother was closed in a frown, her golden eyes seemingly glowing._

_She turned and saw the others all surrounded her, creating a circle around her as if they had to cage her in. There was no way out…There was no way to run, to hide, to get away from these people who she knew by instinct were dangerous. She wanted to scream but it was stuck in her throat._

_The little girl took a step closer to her, that grin increasing and then she said;_

"_You've been such a bad girl"_

_The tall man, not the muscular one, the one with the curly hair spoke next, lifting what appeared to be a cigarette to his lips;_

"_Don't you know when to quit resisting? You can't win with the hand you've been dealt"_

_The even bigger man, who looked down at her with a scary grin, rumbled;_

"_Life isn't so sweet, girl"_

_The two boys grinned, showing their sharp teeth. The blonde one was almost jumping up and down with a thrill that she couldn't imagine. They looked like they wanted to kill her. Like they wanted to turn their guns to her and shoot. The dark haired one leered at her, leaning a little closer so his words would be even sharper._

"_Don't be a stupid. Just give it up!"_

"_Hee! Give up! Give up!"_

_She turned to the woman she had seen last and instead of speaking she reached for her. They all did. She screamed, ducking down trying to get away from their hands. She screamed louder, covering her ears, feeling the tears running down her face. She couldn't escape, she could never escape. They would get her. They were get her and take her away._

"Verinty!"

_She felt the shaking her. She started to scream for them to stop it, stop it!_

"Veri! It's me!"

Verinty snapped her eyes opened and gasped for air, as if she had been underwater too long. She struggled out of the arms that constricted her. They held her down and when she thought she was going to scream she looked and saw it was only Lavi. She was crying, tears running down her face. She looked at him only a moment more before burying her face in his chest and letting the sobs come out.

Lavi had head Verinty scream, once and very loudly. He was surprised that it didn't wake Bookman. He had jumped up and ran into her room, throwing open the door and saw her thrashing on her bed, sobbing and pleading for something or someone to not take her away.

He shook her and her sobbing had increased and then finally she had opened her eyes, which left them at their current point of her sobbing into his chest. He held her there and stroked her hair trying to be as comforting as he could. Whatever her dream had been it had been hard to wake her up from it.

She had been having an awful a lot of Nightmares of late hadn't she though? He remembered just two nights ago she had a Nightmare. Yesterday she hadn't talked to him at all, he didn't know what he did wrong, only that she was mad at him.

"There, there, Verinty" he said, trying to be soothing as he could. He wasn't too confident in his comforting abilities. He knew a little of course and he was hoping it was enough for Veri. Soon enough, her sobbing started to stop. She started to breathe easier and then she was lying in his arms. There was nothing odd about the embrace. It wasn't romantic or even really comforting. She was in his arms, as just his ally. He was there for her, because that was the only thing she would allow. The only thing he could allow.

She took a shaky breath.

"It felt so real…like they could really take me away…" she said. He could hear her, her head was turned to the side now, out of his chest. She was laying her head there though…Listening to his heartbeat maybe. He waited for her to go on, but she didn't. She said no more on the subject.

He sat there holding her for a while longer before starting to get up. She jerked back as if she realized she had been lying in his arms for an extended period of time. She looked up at him and he gave her a small smile.

"You'll be alright though" he said it like a promise. "It's early, so I'm going to go back to bed alright?" She trembled and buried her hair in his chest again.

"Please don't leave me!" she begged. He couldn't resist a cute girl, and she was cute with her eyes filled with tears, her lips set into a frown and her tan skin flushed a light red with her dark hair in its bed head style from her waking, so he stayed with her, keeping her folded in his arms. He stayed a little longer, stroking her hair from her face. He knew she was relaxing and then finally she fell asleep in his arms.

He laid her down back onto her bed as carefully as he could, trying not to disturb her and awake her again. Her fingers were tangled in his shirt and he had to be careful when prying them out of his night shirt. Finally he had her down on her own bed, her fingers out of his shirt and her asleep and looking calm.

He scratched his head and looked down at her sleeping form. She looked like a child, so tiny and young and vulnerable to everything. He realized that she still was pretty young and that she was vulnerable to many things. He frowned at the thought but quickly shook his head.

It was no business of his to protect her. She wouldn't want him to anyway. He was sure she rather be alone and she rather fight whatever might trouble her by herself. A small part of him didn't like that though. A small part of him demanded that he be there for her, to protect her as much as he could. She was just so young…but then again he was young too wasn't he?

He looked at her sleeping form again. She looked so gentle…so sweet. He brushed some hair out of her face and frowned at himself. Then he turned and left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

The morning came and it woke up Lavi. He sat up and ruffled his messy red hair. He took his time getting around that morning because he wondered if Verinty was still mad at him or not. He didn't know if she had forgiven him for….for whatever he had done to upset her. He wasn't going to push her though. Something told him that it would be a bad idea to push her to tell him anything. An instinct and he figured it would be for the best if he listened to it.

When he had finally gotten around, his clothes were in order and his hair held back by his headband he walked out the door. Bookman was already gone. Bookman often tended to other things that had to be done since he assigned Verinty to Lavi. At least it really wasn't hard work. How hard was it to follow a cute girl around and be there for her?

Well the only part that might have been hard was not getting attached but that was easy for Lavi. He knew what he was doing with that. He knew how to flirt, flatter and other wise work with women without getting attached to them. Though Veri didn't seem to like to be called cute or otherwise… Some women didn't like to be complimented, he got that. It wasn't a big deal. He wasn't going to make a big deal out of it.

He stood now outside of Verinty's door. He wanted to knock but he didn't know if she was awake or not yet. He figured he might as well knock and just as his knuckle touched the door it swung open as if it were inviting him into the room. He walked in, tensing a little because he didn't know Veri's current mood. He saw her sitting on her bed, looking out the window. She looked peaceful…

She turned to look at him and her golden eye was glimmering again. She was pretty, she really was at that moment. He shook it off though and hurried over to where she was sitting.

"Are you ok now Veri?" he asked, worry in his voice.

"Yeah…I think" she answered and her voice was unsure. She didn't know if she were alright or not? That worried him a little but then he shook off that worry too. He _could not_ get attached. He wasn't getting attached. Verinty was just another girl, just another human. Humans were low creatures, he was better than them. Better than anyone at the Order. It was a simple as that.

There was a long pause as he thought this.

"Are you alright Lavi?" she asked, there was true concern in her voice. "You look upset about something"

He wanted to groan hearing that concern in her voice! He thought she was a loner…A loner doesn't care for others! Instead he threw on a fake smile and grinned at her.

"I'm fine Veri. I'm just worried about you" Which was true on a level. He was worried about what was happening around her. People had already died. He wondered how many more would and why people were dying to keep her secret a secret. What was so bad about it?

Or what if it wasn't bad?

What if she could do a lot of good for the world? What if her power really was a good power? But then why were people trying to hide what was good about her from her? Unless the people trying to hide it were bad and wanted her to use her power for bad things, thus they had to keep it a secret that her power was really good so they could use it for evil.

It kind of made him dizzy to think about. He hoped his thoughts weren't true. If someone used Verinty's power for evil…He didn't even know the extent of her power and it horrified him. Meanwhile Verinty had just sat there silent, studying him. He focused on her again and her bi-colored eyes. She blinked, slowly, and then sighed.

"Verinty…Do you ever practice with your power?"

Her eyes flashed to him, narrow and angry. "Out" she said in a low whisper. He tried to protest but she looked angrier instead. "Out, get out!" Before he could make her any angrier he got up and headed out the door, wondering how a simple little question could set her off and make her so upset.

Verinty winced at the door shut and took Lavi away from her sight. She didn't want to be so harsh with him, but it was the only thing she knew, the only way she knew how to be. She was a little angry that he had brought up about _that_. Her power – if one could truly call such a curse 'power' – was a delicate subject. Besides that, what if someone overheard? She was sure that they would not be so understanding of her being a freak.

She curled up on the bed, trying to be as small as possible. A small black book – that journal that she read to find the village where her uncle and aunt had been – laid on the small end table by the bed. She reached for it and moved it close to her and opened it, just a little. She flipped through the pages until she came to three blank pages in the back.

The book was nice. It really was. It was well made and she doubted that much could damage it. She turned it in her hands and then got up. She was already dressed in a sleek off-white dress with long sleeves that swallowed her hands. Around her neck was the odd necklace she had found in her room. She figure that one of _them_ had left it for her.

She hurried down the hall, bare-foot as always. She wanted to run, but didn't. If she ran like someone was chasing her – even though it felt like someone was always chasing her now – it would cause eyes to turn to her. She didn't want people looking right now. She just wanted to reach the library. It couldn't be that hard.

She was almost there when Lenalee and Komui turned the corner and she almost ran into them. Instead she jumped back, her heart pounding. She had not expected them to be there. She looked at them with wide eyes for a long moment and then she forced herself to relax, to stop being so uptight for a moment. She had to play the role of someone carefree now, someone who was just another person. Someone who wasn't a freak.

"H…hi" she greeted them.

"Hi Verinty, where were you going?" asked Lenalee. Her face had a cheerful smile on in now. Komui seemed relaxed now too. So greeting people was a good idea, it made them not as wary of her. She would be lying if she said she had known this before hand. She really needed to get around people more.

"Um..to the library" she said, keeping her voice soft and inoffensive.

"Oh, going to find something to read while waiting for Lavi?" she asked. "Say you guys seem pretty close" She smiled, like she knew what was going on.

"We're just friends" She said and then not wanting to talk anymore she hurried past them. She actually didn't care if she offended the ditzy girl or her brother. Neither of them really even mattered to her. There were few people who had ever mattered to her. She was surprised to find she counted Lavi among them for the fact that he was helping her. If not for that fact she was sure she wouldn't really care for Lavi at all.

He was too cheerful, but at the same time she could sometimes see how fake he was. She wondered if this was all like a game to him. She wondered how much he like _playing_. Bookmen irritated her for that very reason. Her mother told her a lot about Bookman and their ways. He mother had been friends with Bookman obviously, or at least she had shared information with the man. Maybe he had been her ally as Lavi was hers. Still, she hated that Bookmen were so fake. It annoyed her, it disturbed her.

No one should put so many fake smiles on their face.

But then again they didn't see anything wrong with it. And Lenalee's guess of Verinty and Lavi being…_close_ was wrong. It was wrong for a Bookman to even get that close to a person. They rarely did. That's what Verinty's mother told her. She said that Bookmen liked to stay distant from the world so they could record what happened without infusing their feelings into the events.

That's what a Bookman was.

And Verinty hated them for it.

Sometimes it was just better to forget.

She entered the library with that bitter thought in her head and she dropped the small black book she was carrying in surprise. Several people were in the library and they all looked up at her as she entered. What was with all the people all about the Order today? She quickly snatched the book off the floor and hurried to where she had found the journals to put it away. Without using a ladder she quickly climbed up the shelf once again and slipped it into its rightful place. Then she examined the other journals there and found that two of them only had a single thing written in them. She ripped out the one page in the one and stuffed it in the other.

Then she climbed down and took the other way out of the library. She wondered if the people had heard what she had done but she didn't really care. She walked back to her room at a slow pace, eyes scanning the different areas of the Order out of curiosity.

Her mother had told her that she had been an Exorcist for around fifteen years before leaving the Order, but the story always stopped there. Her mother never went on to say what she had done after she left the Order, only that she left it. She figured that it was about the time that her mother met her father. Still, her mother had talked so highly of the Black Order and the people within it.

She knew that Komui hadn't been chief when her mother was still there, since it was over sixteen years ago that her mother had left the order now. It always bother Verinty that she had to be hidden from whatever they had been running from and the Order. Wouldn't she have been safe enough within the Order?

She thought of her Nightmares and suddenly knew that she wouldn't have been safe here either. Running had kept her mind busy and it still would. But without Lavi she might not ever find out who her father was or why she had her strange 'powers'.

Her face burned when she thought of them as powers, as if she was embarrassed to have them. They frightened her though, and when she thought of how she had almost killed Lavi, they scared her all the more. She knew her powers could be used for something good but she wasn't sure exactly how to use them. She knew Lavi was only trying to get her to practice so he could record how she did use her power. Power…Why call it a power? Why not call it an uncertainty?

She reached her room, happy to see Lavi had not come back. She didn't want to have to yell at him anymore. She sat down on her bed and took out a small pencil from the desk beside it and opened the little black notebook. She took a deep breath and began to write, the only sound in her room was the scratching of the pencil against the paper.

Days went by and Lavi was happy to have a small break period from his missions. Bookman and him had spent their time observing people from around the Order. Bookman and him were starting to become a part of the Order, or well at least people were starting to accept them a little more now. It was nice that they didn't have to be ask careful with their words. If they asked anyone anything, the person just answered. They didn't question that the two were asking it.

It was rather nice.

He still saw Verinty around, but she didn't talk much. She'd say "Good Morning" to him sometimes, but often enough she was silent now. Sometimes she wouldn't wake up till he went and got her up either. It seemed her nightmares were still going on and it worried him. He expressed his worries with Bookman one night before bed.

Bookman was silent for a long moment. "Go to this place. I have a source saying that you may be able to find a lead in this town. You can just leave tomorrow. Komui won't have another mission for us for a little while yet"

"How do you know?" asked Lavi, taking the folded piece of paper that Bookman held out for him. He glanced at the paper and then his brow furrowed at the name of the place he would have to go. He looked up at Bookman, awaiting his answer but he was upset to find that Bookman had just gone to sleep on him!

"Gah…Stupid old Panda" he muttered and crawled into bed, closing his eye. Why he wouldn't answer Lavi bothered him. Did Bookman know something about Verinty that Lavi didn't know? The thought bothered him until he drifted to sleep.

"_You're such a bad girl" the young girl-doll creature observed._

_She backed away from the girl, she knew that girl as Road. She remembered her name. It was Road. Road smiled, showing her rows of sharp teeth looked like they wanted to tear her apart. She closed her eyes and looked away._

_She felt someone touch her shoulder and she felt people on either side of her. Someone tilted her head back and she felt cold metal pressed on her collar bone, two pieces on either side of her throat. She opened her eyes to see the twin doll creatures on either side of her, their smiles wide and teasing._

"_I don't see why we just don't take her Road." The one with dark hair said. "She doesn't seem to want to come willingly."_

"_Just take her! Steal her away!" the other one crowed out, shoving his gun harder against her neck. She worked on not crying and not begging them to leave her alone. This nightmare had to end soon, it couldn't go on forever, dreams never went on forever. _

"_And that's where you're wrong" said Road smiling. "This is my dream, just as well as its yours and if I want to keep you in it I will! I'll keep you in here forever and ever!"_

_She seemed delighted by the idea of trapping her away in the dream forever, while she was very scared that it could happen. She was even more put off by the fact that Road could get into he head, that Road knew what she was thinking in the dream. That was even worse. She wished Lavi was there, she wished Lavi would help her. He was her ally, he had to._

"_Yes, the Bookman" sighed Road and then the twins stepped away from her. She glanced back at them and hurried to move away from them when she ran into someone. She looked up and it was Lavi…but it wasn't. There was a different look in his eye._

"_La…vi?" she half gasped his name, as if she didn't really know why he was there or not. _

_He smiled, but the smile was cruel. "You know there's no real escape from this place, right Veri?" Hearing him use that nickname on her, in this place, was bone chilling. His tone was practically dead. Truly Bookman._

"_There….there is" she stuttered, backing away from Lavi. He grabbed both her arms and pulled her close, lowering his face so it was at the same level as hers. If this wasn't a nightmare, she would have said he was going to kiss her._

"_You're going to be stuck here forever Veri, there will be no escape from this place…"_

"_You're not Lavi!" she found the words and screamed them, raising her hand and slapping the Nightmare Lavi before turning and running from them all. The taller gentleman looking doll creature appeared. His curly hair was down now. _

"_Where do you think you're going, girl?" _

_She ducked down, finally feeling the tears break free and run down her face. She wanted nothing more than to wake up. Why couldn't she wake up. Suddenly she felt hands on her, lifting her up. She struggled against them, she pressed her face into their chest and arched her back, pushing, trying to get away, but the held her tighter._

It was light resurfacing from a long dive when she opened her eyes and saw Lavi's eye looking down at her, looking almost worried. Her lip trembled and she buried her head in his shirt again, clinging to him.

"Its really you" she whispered.

"Really me?" he questioned. She hadn't meant for him to hear that but she wasn't bother that he actually did.

"Yeah, its you. You…" She shook her head and looked up at him, fighting to control the tears. "I thought I'd never wake up"

"Nightmares can only last so long, Veri" his tone was almost comforting. Then he looked a little awkward. "Now…can you let me go so I can leave and you can get dressed? We have another lead."

Her eyes brightened a little at that and she released him. He walked out and she waited till the door shut to get ready. She hurried, pulling on a clean shirt, it was loose and ran past her hips. Then she pulled on a pair of brown pants under that. She found her brown cloth belt and wrapped it around her waist to give some control to the shirt and then found some hair clips for her hair. She looked like a danced by the time she was done getting ready. She grabbed a small bag and stuff her new notebook in it along with her pencil then she ran out the door and almost ran into Lavi.

"What are we waiting for?" she asked softly. "Lets go!"

He grinned, seeming excited and then they both hurried out the door to find out what they could. Hopefully this search would yield more answers than their previous ones. She could only hope because she knew if she didn't find the answers soon, she would have to give up sleep because her nightmares were going to drive her insane.

* * *

Sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up...I've been having a busy time in my real life because I graduated High School and have been searching for a job. So, I won't be publishing stories as fast as I used to anymore. I will try and finish up Silence as soon as I can though. I've already got it planned out. There will be about 18 chapters in the entire story :) So please leave me some reviews to tell me what you thought of this chapter. I really hoped you enjoyed it and I'll try to get the next chapter out soon!


	7. Dead End

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Dead End**

Arrive within the area that they thought was a town, Lavi and Verinty found they were wrong. It was clearly a ghost town. There was no one there and all the buildings were half rotted falling apart. The whole place was dusty, empty and rotting, awaiting the day when someone would either destroy it to start anew or they would try and save it.

At the moment, Lavi and Verinty stood in front of what used to be a tavern. The sign had fallen in front of the door and three windows were broken, one was broken outwards, which led Lavi to question if someone or something had been trying to escape the building. They could see inside it, a few feet. A broken table, the chair pushed over and a chair that was fine and covered in dust. Then darkness ran over everything and there was nothing more to see.

Lavi walked on, looking in a few other buildings. All and all the place looked to be fell and haunted. There wasn't even a train station to this place anymore. They had to walk several miles from the last one. People had given them funny looks when the two of them had set off for this place – now Lavi could see why.

He heard Verinty cry out in pain and he turned to look at her. She had her one finger in her mouth, she had stepped closer to one of the windows and was standing in front of it. Lavi hurried to her side and pulled on her hand so he could look at her finger. She had clearly cut it on the glass of the window.

"Ah, Veri…" he sighed. "C'mon get away from that window. You're not wearing your shoes again" He drug her away from the window and waited until she slipped on the boots he had made sure to get her. She seemed to really hate shoes. She moved her feet in an odd way after putting on the boots and looked up at Lavi again, frowning, her finger still dripping blood.

He took a cloth and wrapped her finger in it. Red stained the bit of white cloth within a few seconds and he sighed. Verinty's eyes were questioning but she didn't say a thing. She hadn't since they spotted the fallen place. She walked up to a tree a few feet from the tavern. It was black and half fallen over. She placed her hand on it, rubbing its trunk. When she pulled her hand away it was black. Her brow furrowed.

"Lavi" she called holding up her hand, but he already seen it. He walked up to the tree and touched it.

"Its been burnt…but none of the buildings around it seemed to have suffered. Curious" he wiped his fingers off, as they had gotten the ash from the tree on it as well. "No wonder its dead" She brushed the ash off her fingers as well. She backed away from the tree. She looked at it like it was an evil, evil thing. She paced in a large circle around it and turned to look at another building. This one almost looked like a school

"This place is fell….and evil" she whispered. Lavi walked over to her and patted her shoulder, a comforting gesture and grinned at her. She looked at him for a long moment before smiling a little as well.

"Well I wonder why we were sent here" he said, moving a away from her a little until he saw the graveyard. He stopped there and then something clicked in his head. Could Verinty's father be actually _dead_? But the way that woman at the village – Erica? – had spoken, he was still alive! A cold pit formed in Lavi's stomach.

"Veri, come over here" he motioned with his hand. She looked up and he felt that cold pit twist like a knife. He hoped he was wrong. She seemed to want to protest him calling her that name, but there must have been a look to him that made her shut her mouth. She walked over to him and stood by his side. He looked towards the cemetery and she followed his eyes.

She looked at it for a long moment and then before he could grab a hold of her – her reaction was so sudden! – she dashed towards the graveyard. He followed; he couldn't let her go alone. She could get hurt…And he had to record this! This would be important, maybe, someday. Lavi followed her, listening to her boots hit the ground and watching her carefully, if she fell he'd be there for her.

She reached the gate to the graveyard and pushed against it. It didn't budge. She pushed again, her body arching trying to use all the strength she had to open the door. It wouldn't move for her. Lavi reached her side and pushed as well. With a loud creak the door swung open, the metal banging against the fence. She went to hurry inside but Lavi grabbed her wrist. She turned fast, placing her hand on his.

"Let me go" she said, her voice desperate.

"Where are you going Veri?" he asked voice gentle. "There's nothing here, let's go before you see something that you don't want to see" She tried to pull her tiny wrist from his hand, but he just stepped closer to her, he was a little taller than her and he had to glance down to make eye contact with her. "C'mon Verinty"

"No…! I have to…" She turned to look further in the cemetery. She finally pulled her wrist from his hand and she turned and ran through the cemetery. He dashed after her. The cemetery was older than the town, many graves couldn't be read and it was dark since the sun was covered by heavy dark clouds. It was creepy and Lavi felt vulnerable, like some monster would show up and attack him.

Alina stood in a crumbled room. A crib sat on one side, a broken doll lay on the floor, half of its head missing. Bones, literally human bones, were lying in the corner as well making the place forbidden and scary. She was afraid, of course, but she didn't say it. She stood there, dressed as a man instead of a woman because that's what the master told her to do. She heard voices in the abandoned village below and peeked out a window to see the girl and the boy with the eye patch. He had a silver tongue on him.

She backed away from the window, so she wouldn't be seen. She was waiting for someone but they still weren't there. A few minutes later a young man entered. Well, he was actually older than she was by almost four years. He was panting and looked like he had run a long way.

"I'm sorry" he panted. "I had to go around back, because of those two. They were running towards the Cemetery when I last saw them"

"Damn it!" Alina let the curse slip past her lips and glared at the older man. "If you weren't my older brother, I swear I'd kill you myself" she said and then she sighed, looking towards the graveyard where the two kids would surely be. Her brother stood behind her, fidgeting. "Do you have it?" she asked, not bothering to turn back and look at him.

"Yes, but they're just _kids_…" his voice trailed off.

"Damn it, Russell!" she growled turning back to him. She walked up to him and pointed her finger up at him. "Don't mess this up for us. The Earl will give us everything if he wins against them"

"Or he'll kill us" Russell gulped. "Please think about Alina, he hates humans. Sure we have money and we'll do things for him that the Noah can't, but really think Alina. He'll kill us. I know he will"

Alina glared at the ground. "Maybe that's everything we deserve Russell…We're bad people, we're serving a Devil instead of a God…Our parents died because of the Akuma, this war has brought only sadness to our family, but I don't care" She looked up at her brother then. "This is all I have, this is all I can do. I'll do it." She walked half-way around her brother and then stopped. "If you can't do it, give it to me" She held out her gloved hand.

"Alina…" his voice was soft and full of protest.

"Russell, give me the damn thing" she wiggled her fingers impatiently. He sighed, his face looking confused and maybe even a bit lost. He reached into the pocket of his black jacket and pulled it out. He shoved it in her hand.

Her fingers wrapped around the handle of the gun and she walked out of the room, leaving Russell there to regret what he'd done.

Verinty was being pulled by an invisible string; to find something…something she wished wouldn't be here. Only the dead lay within graveyards and the dead end she had been dreading also would lay here and when she found it, it would lay all her hopes to rest. She would never find out who she really was or even what. She didn't she believed Erica, or at least what she had said about her parents loving each other. If they did, wouldn't they have stayed together?

Of course they didn't and so here she was…running to the place where everything would end.

She was aware of Lavi behind her. He kept calling for her to stop. Every once in a while, he'd catch her arm and stop her but she shake it off, like a dog riding itself of a flea and then she'd run again, boots pounding against the ground.

She turned and ran in between a row of grave markers. She stopped then and Lavi caught her again, grabbing both her arms this time and shaking her lightly. She couldn't pay any mind to him. She had suddenly got a really bad feeling. She looked at Lavi, he was speaking but she wasn't hearing him.

"Veri?" he asked. Her eyes darted around. She could have sworn she heard a branch breaking somewhere. "Veri? What's-"

She suddenly tackled him to the ground, pushing him down. Just in time too as a gun fired and the bullet went over where he had just been. He looked at her with a wide eye and then she got up, dragging him up with her. She turned and started running down the row of gravestones.

She pulled Lavi behind a large one and ducked down. Her heart was pounding and she couldn't help but press her back against the tombstone, and pant, trying to catch her breath. Lavi was doing similar.

"Who…What's shooting at us?" she asked, keeping her voice low. She looked over to Lavi, feeling afraid.

"I have no idea…" He replied his voice low as well. She didn't want to also think that they were shooting at Lavi. She heard another shot fire and she closed her eyes and automatically covered her ears. She peeked up over the gravestone and saw a man standing there with a gun.

He aimed the gun up in the air and shot again and she ducked down before he could see her. She heard him begin to walk slowly forward, towards them. He wasn't looking right at the gravestone so maybe he didn't know where they were. She looked over at Lavi. "What should we do? He's coming"

"Your power" he whispered back. She looked even more scared for a moment then swallowed hard and nodded.

"You're right…" she agreed. _It might be the only way to get out of here alive_ she thought to herself. "Okay, run…I'll write something in the dirt to stop them and join you when I'm done" Lavi touched her shoulder; it was an almost caring gesture.

"Be careful Veri" She nodded and he got up, running low, to hide behind the gravestones as he escaped. She began to write in the dirt. There was another shot fired, closer this time. She flinched a little and hurried, writing faster. The dirt was hard to write in with her finger and she could barely read what she just wrote, but it would have to do.

She heard their steps now, clear and easy, they were close. She finished writing and leaned over the words and began to read them in a clear whisper. She read quickly, careful not to stutter over the words or mispronounce anything. She heard them even closer now and another gun shot pierced the sky. She didn't stop and then the last work left her lips.

"Aha!" gasped the man and Verinty looked up to see she was mistaken. It was not a man but a woman. Would that affect her words? The woman lifted up the gun, looking unhappy. "Where's the boy with the eye patch?" she asked.

Verinty didn't answer. The woman pointed the gun to the sky again and pulled the trigger; the gun clicked. She looked at it, puzzled. Verinty was happy that her words had worked. Without waiting she quickly grabbed the woman meaning to take the gun from her hands so she couldn't come after them again but the woman hit her hand away and took a step back onto unstable ground. She slipped and fell, hitting her head off a tombstone. There was a sickening crack and the woman lay still.

Verinty's hand flew to her lips, covering a gasp. The woman didn't move yet, not even to breathe. Verinty felt like she was going to be violently ill but she had no time to worry about that. She backed away from the woman slowly, not knowing if she were alive or not and then turned, running the way Lavi had. She didn't hear the woman stir.

She felt tears in her vision. She had _killed_ that woman. She knew she did. She could make up excuses, saying it was the woman's fault, but still all and all, she had _killed_ another living person. The thought didn't sit well with Verinty. Finally she found Lavi waiting by a mausoleum. The door to it was open and he was sitting just inside its strong iron door.

As soon as he saw her, he jumped up and trotted over to her. "Did you stall them?" he asked

"I killed them" she answered and then she turned away as her stomach heaved. She coughed and wiped her mouth afterwards. Lavi helped her to the mausoleum steps so she could sit down. She did and just looked up at the sky. He didn't ask, he just watched her waiting for her to speak first.

"I didn't mean to kill them" she whispered. "It just…happened" Lavi rubbed her back.

"It's okay" he said. "You didn't mean it"

"That makes it okay?" she asked her voice dropping to a whisper.

"It was self-defense." He answered, after a thoughtful silence.

"Of course" She got up, walking away and glaring down at a grave. It said '_Mana Walker_' across the top of the cross-shaped marker. It was rather plain and this grave looked newer than many of the others but Verinty couldn't really care about this 'Mana' or otherwise. She turned and looked at Lavi. "Can we go back now?" Something sounded broken and old in her voice. Surely her father's body lay in this graveyard, which meant it was over anyway. She just wanted to go back to the Order and try to make herself useful. Might as well. It wasn't like she could live a regular life.

Lavi followed after her and kept pace with her. They took the long way out, careful to avoid the dead woman. Verinty didn't think she could look upon her sin and be alright. She just wanted to get back to the Order, go back to just knowing nothing.

"Today…was a bad day" she whispered to herself but Lavi gave her a sad look, and touched her arm. That was close to comfort as she knew she'd get.

When they returned to the Order, Verinty became even more aloof than before. She would barely come out of her room and when she did, she never said more than a few words. Lavi was worried about her, but when ever he expressed it to her, she'd walk away. It frustrated Lavi. She had given up. They didn't know if her father lay in that graveyard…Or maybe it was the fact that she had given that graveyard a new resident. Either way, that person had been trying to kill them…

It was a usual morning for Lavi. He woke up early, got dressed and went to Verinty's room to pull her from her nightmares. They plagued her horribly. When she'd first wake up, she'd always look like she was still stuck in where ever the nightmare had placed her. She'd be pale and look almost sickly. Sometimes she'd just sit there and stare off into the distance like she was seeing things that only she could see. It did worry Lavi. He was worried about her. She was fading away from the real world and curling into herself. He had no idea how to help her.

When he woke her up that morning though she look at him, directly at him, like she was fully awake right away. She grabbed his arm and pulled him closer. "That woman…that shot at us" she said. He had not known it was a woman, she had not told him before but he nodded, knowing what she was talking about. "She was after you Lavi…She wasn't trying to shoot me. She was trying to shoot you" Then she let him go and he stumbled back. She sat up, her eyes wide from her nightmare, sweat making her hair stick to her face. She trembled and let go of him.

"Why didn't you tell me right away?" he asked her.

"I…I don't even know why I'm telling you now" she said, her eyes dropped to her lap. Her hands lay there.

"Veri!" he exclaimed, touching her shoulder. She looked up at him, her mismatching eyes wide. "She wasn't after you!" Now her brow furrowed. "Don't you know what that means?" he asked. She clearly didn't so instead of waiting for her to admit that he went on. "Who ever sent her, wants you alive. We have to go back"

"No!" she cried, she pulled away from him.

"Veri, where else are we going to find them? If we go back there, maybe we can catch one of them…Then we can question them and find out who you are. You want to know don't you?" So maybe Lavi was using her emotions against her, but he supposed that came with the label of Bookman. He was already plotting. It couldn't be that hard to capture one of these people that were stalking her. There had to be more than one right?

They catch one, they question them, let them go and then Verinty has all her answers and so did Lavi. He could record it and go on being a happy Bookman. It was all so simple. All he had to do is get a few things. He was sure that Bookman could help out. He was sure Bookman would also approve of this and even if he didn't, Lavi knew how to be sneaky. He wasn't sure how well it might work with his mentor, but of course he could try.

"Ar…are you sure?" she asked. Her voice was soft, resigned. She was trying to deny that his words were true. He could see it in her eyes, but she closed them and looked away. "When will we leave?"

"Two days" he said, his face was serious. "If I can get everything around in that amount of time. Don't worry, Veri. I'll take care of everything. Just rest up" then he turned and left the room, thinking of the things he would need before their journey in two days. Going back to that fell and haunted place was not going to be easy on either of them. They'd stay out of the graveyard though. They'd search the town. He'd have to fill in Veri of his plan before they left.

For now he just had to plot and get Bookman to approve of this plan. Of course Bookman would probably say that it could go horribly wrong, which it could but Lavi was confident that he could keep it from going wrong with his nearly perfect Bookman observing skills. So he had a lot to do before they left. He knew he better get to work or it might not be done in time.

Two days later they were standing in front of the town again. Verinty was half hidden behind Lavi, her fingers tangled into his coat, biting her lip so hard it looked like it might bleed. He touched her hand and she grabbed his hand, holding onto it tightly. She looked at him and he saw the fear in her eyes.

"Something's wrong here" she whispered.

"No, it's fine Veri" he assured her and then he walked forward, keeping her hand in his. It meant nothing, so it was alright and besides, it wasn't like Bookman was there to yell at him. She seemed a bit more comforted by the fact that he was holding her hand too. She followed behind him, glancing around her eyes wide.

They walked until they reached the bar again. He stopped there and put his bag down. He turned to her and she looked worried. She still held his hand and he looked down at their hands. She was trembling, she was really _afraid_. Lavi swallowed hard and then tugged her forward and hugged her, wrapping both arms around her in a comforting embrace.

"Really, it's alright. I promise" he said softly to her, trying to get her to relax. He didn't want her worked up and scared. No she shouldn't have been scared. She might be getting her answers. There was no room for her to be scared. She had to be ready to learn who she really was. Why she had the power that she did. She was strong, she had to be strong. He let go of her and smiled a little. He saw her hand go to a small bag that hung across her body. She reached in it and pulled out a black book and a pencil.

"Tell me how I can help" he voice was soft but the way her mouth was set, she looked sure. He grinned at her. She was really changing. She wasn't the girl he had met. She may have lost her mother and some other members of her family that she had met but that didn't mean she was weak. No, now that Lavi looked at her, she looked strong.

"Alright, that's the Veri we need!" She frowned at his nickname and he was glad to see that she was relaxed enough to frown at such a small thing. "Alright, we need to set a trap for them. We need them to know you're back.

"How are we going to do that?" she asked, looking skeptical.

"They knew we would be coming last time, maybe they knew we'd be back too!"

"Well if they knew we'd be back, couldn't they guess about this trap?" she pointed out and Lavi frowned. He doubted they could. How would they know what he or Verinty were thinking? They wouldn't, thus they would be able to trap them. It would be easy.

"Don't worry so much Veri. We just have to work with what we have here" he said.

"Alright" she still sounded skeptical as she looked but at least she was going to listen to him now. He went on to explain exactly what she needed to do and they were able to set up the trap fairly easily. He smiled when they were done and leaned against the wall of the bar. He looked over at Verinty with a satisfied look. She was leaned against the door frame of bar, she seemed okay with the place now.

She looked hopeful now too though, even Lavi could see the hope in her eyes, She was hoping that this might work and that the truths might come out. She wanted the truth to come out. She flicked her dark hair out of her face and then took a deep breath.

"Now all we have to do is let them know I'm here" she said. She got her pencil back out and reached for the notebook when they both heard the sound of guns clicking. Verinty dropped her pencil and whipped around to look inside the bar. Lavi jumped back, just as a huge chunk of ice shot through where he had just been standing. His fingers were on his hammer and he drew it from his pocket, ready to fight.

"We don't want you hee!" a voice called and then two figures jumped from the inside of the bar. They grabbed Veri, each one grabbing an arm.

"_No!_" she screamed and she struggled. She managed to kick the one in the shin, making the dark haired boy curse and let go of her. She hit the blond one and he dropped her to cover his face and whimper. As soon as she was free she ran towards Lavi again. They both dashed towards the graveyard, the only place they could hide and lose the two boys.

They heard them cursing and growling from behind them. They didn't look back though; they just ran, almost blindly through the rows of gravestones. They found a huge one with what looked to be a rose on top of it and ducked behind it. It was all so familiar to what happened last time.

"What are we going to do?" asked Verinty. Lavi couldn't tell her. His plan had gone wrong. These guys did want Verinty though, she had been lucky to escape from the two of them. Suddenly he heard Verinty squeak and he turned to look at her. A hand was coming through the tombstone and was over her mouth.

"Verinty!" Lavi cried but before he could grab her, a man walked through the tombstone and was holding Verinty. He had her wrists in one hand and his other still covered her mouth. She looked afraid. Lavi stood, his hammer ready.

"You think you can beat me?" the man asked. "Well would you risk hurting your poor friend?"

"Let Verinty go!" Lavi growled. Verinty looked really scared and Lavi wanted nothing more than to save her. "Let her go now!" Lavi readied his hammer to attack the man but he heard a gun go off. He looked to the side and barely dodged another chunk of ice.

"You two actually going to make some use out of yourself?" the man asked as the two boys balanced themselves on the tombstone that Lavi and Verinty had been hiding behind.

"Shut up!" growled the one that Verinty had kicked.

"She's a mean girl! Mean! Mean! Mean!" crowed the other.

"I don't see- Ow!" The man let go of Verinty, pushing her to the ground. It took Lavi a second to realize she had bitten his hand. She was up in a second, dashing towards him. Lavi was tense, ready to bolt the second she was by his side again. They had to get out of here and they had a long way to the next town. They would get out of here somehow though. He would get them out of here.

Suddenly something hit Lavi from behind. He fell, smacking his head off of something. The world flashed and colors swam. He heard Verinty calling out his name, but he couldn't answer her. He couldn't even move. Verinty screamed and he tried to get up, he really did but he just couldn't. His body felt so heavy and in the end he passed out.

Lavi wasn't sure how long he had been out, but he knew he hurt. His head was pounding. He felt his head carefully and felt a bump but no dried blood which was good. His hammer was still in his hand. He stood carefully, grabbing onto a tombstone to steady himself. He looked around. It looked like not much time had passed. He looked around.

"Verinty?" he called. It was silent. He walked among the tombstones, looking for her, any sign of her.

"Verinty?" he called again, his voice louder this time. He was truly worried about her now. Where was she?

"Verinty? Answer me!" He picked up his pace and searched the graveyard and then walked out to the ghost town. He walked to the bar and found her pencil laying there. "No…" he whispered to himself. How could thing have gone so wrong? He had such a good plan to and now…Verinty was gone.

Where had they taken her? Maybe Bookman would know. He found his bag and his communications golem that he had actually thought to bring. The guys at the Order had given him and Bookman one each, but they usually only used the one. The other one would be back at the Order. Hopefully Bookman had it with him.

"Hey! Old man!" he called into the golem, silence. "Panda?" he tried.

"Don't call me a Panda" came the gruffled reply.

"Verinty! She's been taken away, we have to find a way to save her! Do-"

"No. It's better that she's gone. Come back to the Order Lavi"

"Wh…What do you mean its better that she's gone?" Lavi's mind raced. Was there something wrong with her?

"You were becoming too attached to that girl. Come back to the Order Lavi. You have other Bookman duties that you have to attend to" Lavi gripped the golem hard. He wanted to tell Bookman to shut up, that he had to save Verinty, but Lavi saw the truth in his words.

"I'll be there as soon as I can"

* * *

Well I got this chapter out faster so that's good  
So Lavi is going to abandon Verinty? Oooh, drama~ Well I hope you all liked this chapter as well. Please leave me a couple of reviews to read, they make me really happy :)


	8. Lost And Found

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Lost And Found**

Lavi opened his eyes, well eye as the morning light hit it. He groggily got up and gathered his clothes, pausing only to change his eye patch and utter a low curse when he bumped into the one table. He bundled the clothes up and headed off to the huge springs that the Black Order had for bathing. He waved to anyone he saw in the hall and offered them tired smiles as he went along his way. When he finally reached the springs he checked to who else was around. It was a miracle but he was bathing alone that day. He stripped and took a towel to wear along his lower body, in case anyone would come in and then got in the steaming hot water with a sigh.

It was really relaxing and with all the work Bookman had been making him do lately. The last seven months had been filled with nothing but work – be it Booman work or Exorcist work. Work was still work and Lavi took naps when ever he could to keep his energy up. He had made 'friends' in the Order as well, but Bookman reminded him daily to watch how close he was to them. He leaned his head back. It was because of how close he had become to _her_ in the short amount of time that he knew her.

_Verinty…_ With her name always came a pang of worrying. It had been seven months since she had been taken away and no one searched for her, except for Lavi. Every time he was out on a mission, he'd go off to look for her a little, ask if anyone had seen a girl with a blue eye and a golden eye. No one ever had. He knew Bookman disapproved but he couldn't stop himself from looking for her anyway. He was her _ally_! He should be able to help her, to find her! Instead he had no idea where in the world she was. A part of him felt like failed her because he had not been able to protect her. But…then again he had become rather attached to her. Of course he wanted to protect her.

He leaned back against the edge of the spring and wallowed in slightly depressive thoughts for a little while. If Bookman caught him wallowing in these thoughts, he'd surely be in trouble, but Bookman wasn't there right now. He soaked a little longer and then hurried to wash himself up and get dressed. He had to help Bookman look through the papers again. It was a long and daunting job, especially since there was just so much stuff to go through, but he didn't mind reading all of it. It was good to know what was going on in the world and after all it was a Bookman's job to record everything. He didn't have time to wallow, to miss Verinty or even worry about her – though somehow he managed to – he had to be training to be the next Bookman.

He walked back through the halls, carrying his sleep wear. He got back to the room he shared with Bookman and put away his sleeping clothes before sitting on his bed and grabbing a paper and beginning to read it. Bookman was doing similar. They read in silence, not saying a word until Bookman put down a paper in the pile that meant he was done reading through it. Lavi barely glanced up at this because both of them had done this over a dozen times already. It was no big deal, it just meant he was going to get another paper and start reading.

"My old bones are aching today" he said and Lavi looked up at him. "Komui was going to give us a mission today, but I don't think I should go, so you're going instead" Lavi shrugged, it didn't bother him to go on a mission. "He'll probably send you with another Exorcist" Lavi shrugged again. Maybe it would Yuu. He had become rather fond of the angry Japanese boy. They were the same age, though Yuu was slightly older than himself. It didn't really matter though. They were still _great_ friends. Even so, he had never spoken to Yuu about Verinty. He would barely speak to Lenalee about her.

It wasn't like it really mattered though. Verinty was gone.

"Alright" he said, a small smile on his face. "Just rest up, Pan- Ow!" He rubbed his head where Bookman hit him for calling him a Panda. Then he put his paper aside and got up, careful not to knock over any of the piles. "I better go see about that mission now huh?" he asked and Bookman just nodded instead of giving him a real answer. With that, Lavi walked out of the room. He walked down the hall, smiling at everyone he passed. Sometimes he hated that part of being a Bookman, the fake part but it was just a part of who he had to be.

He reached Komui's office before long and walked in to see Lenalee and Komui within. He looked at the two of them for a moment, wondering if he was going on a mission with Lenalee. He had never gone on one with her before…mainly because Komui was crazy protective. He didn't often talk to Lenalee too much when Komui was around…Komui would glare at him and make him uncomfortable.

"Ah, there you are Lavi" says Komui, adjusting his glasses. "I was about to send a Finder to get you."

"Sorry, I was doing Bookman stuff" he said honestly. He didn't have to tell them what exactly, but they could know that was what he was doing. They might as well. It really didn't hurt anything to tell them that much.

"Well, either way" Komui started rummaging through the papers on his desk. Even after almost eight months at the order – though he never really though of that first month anymore – he wasn't used to the clutter that Komui kept. "I'm sending you on a mission with my little sister" He turned to look at Lavi when he said that, a slight glare in his eyes. Lenalee sighed and rolled her eyes good naturedly. "Ah! Found it!" He held a folder in his hands and then he quickly handed it off to his sister. "All your details are in there, you guys should get going right away. Be careful okay?" The last part seemed to be directed to Lenalee.

"Don't worry brother!" she said with a smile. She gave him a quick hug. "See you later Komui!" She waved and then hurried over to Lavi. "We can review this on the way there okay?" He nodded and followed her out. Good thing he was already in his uniform with his hammer strapped to his side. He was already ready to get going on a mission. He followed her to the secret waterway and boarded the boat alongside her.

He didn't mind going on a mission with Lenalee. She wore he emotions on her sleeve though and that wasn't really a good think for an Exorcist to do. She was a fighter, she should be hiding her emotions and keeping them locked inside while fighting. She was going to get herself killed. Then he thought of her brother. Well maybe not…She would probably survive no matter what just because of her brother. Love was a strong emotion. Just as strong as its opposite; Hate.

A sigh passed his lips. He wasn't allowed to feel any of it since he was a Bookman-in-training but he knew that everyone else felt it. He liked being a Bookman though, it put them above little emotions like that. He was better than them. He was able to ignore and repress the things that could make humans into monsters. It was a skill he had to learn and one he was so glad he had.

The ride in the waterway went on. It didn't bother him to ride along in the water, the boat bobbing every once in a while. He relaxed and looked above himself. He could hear Lenalee humming to herself and he glanced at her. Her face was trouble. He worked his face into a mask of worry and he touched her shoulder.

"You okay?" he asked.

"Yeah…of course" she answers, a small smile touching her lips and then she looked away.

"You sure?" he said, working worry into his words as well. She looked back at him and a frown turned her face.

"I just…have a feeling" she said. "What ever happened to Verinty?" her question was so sudden Lavi couldn't hide the hurt and shock that played on his face. _Hurt? Why should you be hurting over her?_ His mind scolded him. He shouldn't have been but he did anyway. He quick sought to change the subject.

"So what about the mission? Shouldn't we be worried about that? Your bother had such a serious look on his face when he gave it to us" His voice was strained. He was finding it hard, that much was clear. He tried to hide it but it was hard. He tried not to think about Verinty for this reason. Lenalee's face softened, understanding washing across her features and he looked away, frowning.

"You miss her don't you?" her voice was soft.

He didn't answer, but clenched his fist. She was silent. Her hand touched his shoulder but he moved his shoulder away. Why did she have to bring up something like that? He wasn't allowed to miss Verinty, but somehow he did. Somehow he still worried for her. He wondered if she was still having her nightmares sometimes, he worried where she was and if those people he had saw were with her. She seemed so scared of them. Now she might be with them. Was she scared? Was she hurt? Was she okay? Those questions floated through his head.

"Does it matter?" he asked, his voice rougher than he wanted it to. He rubbed his hand across his eyes, well his one good eye. "We can't talk about this" he said finally, after a long moment of silence.

"Lavi…" Lenalee's voice was concerned. He gave her a grim look and she frowned, still looking worried. He hated that she looked so worried about him. Verinty was gone. There was no point in worrying about her. No point in asking himself if she was in pain. There was no point in thinking that she might be scared. There was no point in any of it so he cleared it from his mind. In a way, it felt like he had just pushed a pile of books onto the floor. It may have been out of sight – or in this case out of mind – but they were still there.

It was like a walking dream to her. She knew that the dress she wore was too girly to fight in. It was shorter than standards should allow, only reaching right before her knees. It was red and white, lace and beauty. Her hair was done up in some complicated style. She looked at Road and Road smiled. It still sent a chill down her spine, even now. She touched the necklace around her neck. It was made out of something…special. It kept her here…It kept her from…thinking…

"Alright" Said Road in a sing-song voice. "You can go now"

She stood and walked out of the room, the world going hazy around the edges again. Maybe it was better if she couldn't think, if she couldn't focus. It kept her from thinking about…about that boy with the eye patch too much. She couldn't even remember his name, but that was alright. She didn't need to remember anything anymore.

It was a town by a river. Part of the town was actually built on the river and there was a house that floated above the river as well. Above as in…it floated in the air. There was only one way up and that was if a dock was lowered down so that one could walk up to the house. The person who lived in the house was an old man. He was stubborn, in his late years and at the moment he wouldn't lower the bridge. It wasn't like it was a problem, but…Lenalee and Lavi knew it was better to do this the polite way.

"Please sir!" Lenalee called up. "We need to come up to your house." She was frowning and looking adorable. Lavi didn't know why the man wouldn't let them in. He had huge eyebrows and tanned skin, his mouth was set in a constant frown.

"No." he answered. "I don't want no little kids in my house" He said and then with that, he turned to walk back in his house.

"But we're not kids!" Lavi called.

The man turned and walked back to the edge, glaring down at them. "Yes, you are." Once again he turned.

"Please!" Lenalee called again and the whole thing started all over again. It was quite tiring to tell the truth and Lavi was thinking about using force when suddenly the house shook and the man went tumbling off the edge. Lavi's eye widened in shock but Lenalee was quick to react. She jumped up with her Dark Boots and grabbed the man, setting him down on the dock with Lavi.

"What was that?" asked Lavi and then they saw it. A small group of Akuma approaching fast. One of them was holding a person in their hands, but neither Lavi nor Lenalee could see who it was. They stopped in front of the house and the person jumped from the Akuma to the house.

"My house! What's that young one goin' to do to my house?" the old man cried out and the Akuma turned to them. They were all Level Ones and weak. "You gotta save my house!" The old man grabbed Lavi's arm and shook him. Lavi looked down at him and then up at the house. The door was open.

"Lenalee…"

She smiled at him. "I got the Akuma. Go after the person who went in the house" With that she jumped into the sky, her boots equipped and ready. Lavi nodded and turned to the old man.

"You better get out of here" he warned him.

"What about my house?" The old man asked but Lavi didn't answer. Instead he pulled out his hammer and stood on the handle. It extended until he could jump onto the porch of the house. He hurried inside and saw the living room was trashed. Where was the object that kept the house floating? He heard a crash in a side room and he ran through the kitchen and to the room. It was a plain room with white-wash walls and a wood floor. In the room was a glowing white orb, about the size of a grapefruit with a blueish-red swirl that sometimes appeared within its depths, and also a person. Lavi readied his hammer to fight them but then he saw who they were.

Her skin was nearly a shade paler than the tan he remembered, as if she had spent the last seven months indoors. Her hair was longer, darker and it looked healthier than what it had before. The dress she wore was crimson red and first-bruise pink lace. It was short with long sleeves and she looked good in it. Around her neck was the necklace had seen on her the one night. The strange symbol glowed.

"V-Verinty!" He couldn't help but call her name. She turned to look at him. Her eyes were blank, but they were just as he remembered, but maybe a bit duller. She didn't say anything, just looked at him. "Verinty! It's me Lavi" She didn't so much as twitch. He quickly put his hammer away and closed the gap between them, touching her shoulder. He shook her lightly. She didn't look confused. She just…looked. There was nothing on her face.

"C'mon, this isn't the Veri I know"

"My name…isn't Veri" She suddenly looked like she was going to faint. Alarm washed over Lavi, even as he tried to hold it back. He knew he shouldn't have approached her like this; he should have let her be. She was only an ally and an old one at that. It had been seven months, it was time to let go, but he couldn't.

"Veri?"

"Verinty" she corrected before she stumbled a step forward into his arms and passed out. His fingers were quick to take the necklace off her neck. He let it fall to the floor and then he scooped Verinty into his arms. She was light. Has she lost weight as well? Where had she been?

He had only walked into the living room when Lenalee entered. She looked at the girl in his arms for a moment, shock washing over her features. Then she hurried over to where Lavi held Verinty, concern now dominate on her face. Why was she concerned? Verinty had never liked her back when she was at the Order. Again, this reminded Lavi how very odd humans were. He knew better than to comment though and kept silent as the words tumbled from Lenalee.

"Is that Verinty? Is she alright? Was she with the Akuma? We better get her out of here and take her to the Inn. Do you think she's okay?" Lavi barely caught all the words and he hesitating in answering, thinking of the order that Lenalee asked them.

"Yes, it is Verinty. I don't know if she's alright and we should get her to the Inn. I really don't know what to think right now, so let's focus on getting her to the Inn" He replied. He purposefully skilled the question about her being with the Akuma. He didn't want to think about that now. He would ask Verinty when she woke up. Yes, he just had to wait a little while and that would be mildly annoying to the curious red head but he knew getting Verinty to some place safe was the most important thing.

"Come on. We better hurry" She hurried out the front door, throwing a worried look at the two of them but there was something else in her look. Lavi couldn't name it if he wanted, even after seeing so many emotions play across so many humans faces. He hurried after her, trying not to think of it. He would figure it out later. Once outside, he shifted his hold on Verinty so that he could use his hammer to extend them to the ground.

Once on the ground he and Lenalee went to the Inn that was nearby and to their room where they laid Verinty on one of the beds. Lenalee waited with Lavi for a little while but she left on the excuse that she had to get the Innocence and find the old man who the floating house belonged to. She said she would also find some food for them and for Verinty when she woke up. Lavi told her that he'd keep Verinty in the room after she woke up so that Lenalee wouldn't have to search for them.

He didn't have to wait long after Lenalee left.

"No!" The word tore from Verinty's lips, startling Lavi and she bolted upright on the bed. She was panting and a slight sweat had broken out on her skin. She took in her surrounds and she looked confused at the wooden walls of the Inn. Lavi walked over to the bed and touched her arm gently. She jumped when his skin touched hers.

"You're alright" he said, in what he hoped was a reassuring voice. She looked at him and he saw there was fear for a moment in them. Then it was replaced with what Lavi would call hope.

"Lavi…is that you?" she asked. "Is it really, really you?"

"Yeah, it's me Veri" She didn't even look upset that he had called her 'Veri'. Her face scrunched up and tears ran down her cheeks. Lavi didn't know what to do and he stiffened in alarm.

"I had the most…horrid dream" and she looked down, covering her mouth with her hand. "I'm awake now though….Awake…"

"Yeah, you're alright Verinty" he rubbed her shoulder, trying to be comforting but feeling a little awkward. Not because she was crying, but because he wanted her to be okay. That was not a good feeling for him to have and he knew it. Attachments like that didn't work when one was a Bookman. In fact they usually ended in trouble or the death of the Bookman or the person he was attached to. He didn't want Verinty to die because he wasn't being smart and keeping himself neutral.

She was trying to calm herself down, he could see that, but she wasn't doing so well. Was the shock of being away from….from where ever she had been so great to her? He sat down on the edge of the bed and allowed her to burry her face in his chest and cry. He carefully embraced her, as if she might hurt him. He was more or less afraid of the connection he had to her now. It wasn't right.

She calmed down after a little while and Lenalee still wasn't back. Lavi was a little worried but he knew it would be best to remain where he was for a little while longer. If she didn't return in a half an hour, then he would go looking for her. Verinty stilled leaned into his chest, slow tears running down her face. She gripped Lavi's arms suddenly and pushed herself up to look at him. Her face scrunched up again and he thought she was about to start crying again, but then her face relaxed.

"This is real" she whispered, her grip tightening on his arms ever so slightly. "I…I survived. I'm away from them"

"Away from _who_?" he asked, curious. "And were you working with the Akuma? Where have you been Veri?"

"I'm not sure. The place I was didn't have an windows and it was always dim and dark inside of the place. I can't…really remember much" She touched her head, as if that would help her remember and she squinted at floor. "There were…a lot of them. Akuma…servants and…A man who told them what to do…two of them didn't like me and would bully me until she…uh…she…she stopped them" She seemed to have a hard time spitting the words out. She talked like she was confused about what she was saying.

"You can't remember? Was it that necklace? Was that the thing that kept you from remembering?" he asked. Suddenly she looked up, alertness in his eyes.

"Yes! Yes, the necklace! I remember…her…yes, she was the one, she told me that it dimmed everything for me. She said it would make everything easier for me to…to adjust to. She said I needed to wear it till I…I forgot? Or until I remembered? I can't remember which, but the necklace it…!" She reached up to touch where it would be around her neck and her hand came to bare skin. "Oh!" she gasped. "It's…it's gone."

"Yeah" he said, with a nod. "I took it off you. It wasn't…it wasn't good for you Verinty. It was…it was hurting you. I thought it was hurting you" He was glad he could still have some sort of control over himself. He was able to not let the scarlet flush touch his cheeks. He was embarrassed because the words had a hint of _care_ and _protectiveness_ in them. It was as if he cared about her. _Which I think I do…Ugh, this is going to get messy soon _ he thought, a small frown touching his face. He was pulled away from his thoughts though, when Veri touched the side of his face.

"Thank you" she said, her voice was thankful. Very much so, in fact. Lavi could almost see the gratefulness flowing off her. She was happy to be free of whatever that thing was doing to her. She was happy and grateful and she was safe again. He was her ally again. He smiled a little.

"It was nothing. I just knew you needed a little bit of help." He said, shrugging his shoulders. She placed her hands in her lap and she looked straight ahead, looking thoughtful. He wondered if his words had upset her but then she took a deep breath and said something he never expected her to say.

"I missed you"

"What?" he blinked at the shock of the words.

"I missed you. You're sort of annoying, but…you're…you're a good guy and I missed you when I was gone" she looked away now and Lavi wondered if she was blushing. Before he could lean around and see the door opened and Lenalee walked in, her face looking worried until she saw Verinty was awake. She hurried over, a bag in her hand. She set it down on the end table before hurrying over to the bed.

"Verinty! You're okay!" She said, her eyes wide with shock. Lavi expected Verinty to snap at her, after all she had never seemed to like Lenalee but instead she gave the younger girl a pleasant smile.

"Yes, I am" she said. "And I'd like to go back to the Order with the two of you"

"What? You don't want to…rest?" asked Lenalee. She gave Lavi a nervous glance.

"Verinty, we saw you with Akuma and the Order is going to want to know _how_ we found you…" Lavi was trying to explain it delicately. He didn't want to offend Verinty.

"I'm aware and we'll tell Komui and everyone else will be lied to. Smuggle me in if you have to. I'm willing to disguise myself to get back in the Order" she said, her voice strong and Lavi was reminded on the day he saw her use her power. Her voice had power.

"But it might not be safe for you to go to the Order" Lenalee muttered, her eyes worried.

"It's even less safe for me to not go to the Order" Verinty stated. "_They'll_ get me again and I'll be taken back to _that_ place" She shuddered lightly and Lavi nodded and stood from the bed.

"Alright" he said.

"What?" Lenalee's voice was shocked and yet the worry still rang in it. The girl was going to die young from worry. Lavi resisted shaking his head at the younger girl.

"Verinty has a point. The Black Order is the only place she'll be safe from the people who are after her. We'll take her back with us and we'll keep her there. She'll be much safer at the Order" Lenalee didn't seem convinced for a moment and then her face set and she nodded.

"First we better eat and then we'll find something for Verinty to wear" She said. She looked at the outfit that Verinty was currently in and Verinty glanced down at her, as if looking at it for the first time. A surprised sound came from her and her face flushed.

"You don't have anything I could change into now, do you?" she squeaked. Lavi couldn't help but smile. She seemed to be her old self already. It was good to have her back. She looked up at him, while he was still smiling; her face quizzical and he looked away, his face still holding the smile. No, he wasn't supposed to get attached to her, but how else was he supposed to help her? Plus, he could leave her anytime he wanted to…

At least that's what he told himself.

* * *

Finally! The next chapter. It didn't take as long as some of the other chapters have, but still, it took a little too long and for that I'm sorry. I'm trying to get more chapters out now because soon I will be going to college and I don't know how often I'll be able to publish chapters in college. Well, whatever happens I hope you liked this chapter.

Leave some reviews, yeah?


	9. Back to Order

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Back to Order**

They had spent one more day there in the Inn. They had to get something to disguise Verinty with and then they had to make sure that she could stay in it until they could get her to Komui. They didn't want to get almost all the way there only to be discovered. No, Komui had to see her first. He could figure out the lie they were going to tell the rest of the Order when the questioned Verinty's reappearance after her seven month absence. There had to be something to tell them all, but none of them could come up with anything that sounded the least bit true.

Lavi had told no one what had happened to Verinty, save Bookman, so as far as everyone knew, she had just disappeared. Or run away. That was a lie they could tell. But when Lavi suggested that to Verinty the night before after Lenalee had gone to sleep she shook her head at him. She had asked him then "If I ran away, why would I come back?"

Lavi hadn't been able to come up with a good answer, so that one was quickly crossed out. Unable to figure out a good lie, they worked on her disguise instead and soon it was done. They bought her some clips so that she could keep her hair up or style it so that it looked shorter. When they got up in the morning, Lenalee spent a while trying to make Verinty's hair look a little shorter without cutting it. She piled most of it on her head and allowed some of it to hang in her face, making her hair look short and shaggy. She put on a cloak with a hood and a pair of black pants and a white shirt but the cloak covered it fairly well. She looked at herself in a mirror and she could see herself, even with her hair looking shorter. She looked at her dual colored eyes.

"What about these?" she motioned to her eyes and Lavi peered over her shoulder in the bathroom to look at her eyes. His brow wrinkled and then he smiled.

"Turn here" he commanded and she turned to face him. He messed with her hair a little and then there was hair covering her blue eye. She turned back to the mirror to see. One could barely see her blue eye and they had to be looking very closely to see it. The way they wanted her to walk in the Order, head down and sort of shuffling along, no one would see her blue eye.

Lenalee peeked in the bathroom and Verinty glanced at her. She smiled. "Good, you're barely recognizable since you lost most of your tan" She nodded once and then walked out. Verinty followed and Lavi followed her. Lenalee was making sure everything was in order. On the bed sat the Innocence. It gave Verinty an uneasy feeling and she stayed on the other side of the room, closer to the door as if she were about to run from it. Lavi seemed to notice but didn't question her. She was glad that he didn't. She wasn't even really sure why she disliked the Innocence. She just didn't trust it for some odd reason. It was stupid, but it was how it was.

Lenalee picked up the Innocence and stuffed it into a bag. It was a glowing white orb. They knew it would be better to keep it in a bag for the journey back. With that, they left the Inn and headed to the trains station. They spent their hours on the train trying to figure out a good excuse for Verinty's disappearance and then the reason for her return.

"Why I came back will be easy" she said, with a sigh.

Lavi and Lenalee gave her questioning looks and she shook her head at them, her shaggy hair flopping in her face. It was rather annoying but she could get used to it. She would have to deal with it until she had the chance to talk to Komui. She had no idea how long that would take. She just prayed it would not be too awful long. She wanted to talk to Komui and hurry on with her life. She still wanted to know some things, but she kept those questions to herself. She had more to tell Lavi when they were back at the Order. She was slowly getting some memories back. Nothing concrete, but it was slowly coming back. Just little flashes. She knew she'd figure it out sooner or later. Hopefully sooner rather than later, she was an impatient person.

"We can tell the truth about that; I realized I'd be safer at the Black Order"

Lenalee and Lavi looked at each other and then they both shook their heads. "Why didn't I think of that?" muttered Lavi

"Well at least we have you reason for returning, but what was your reason for running away in the first place?" asked Lenalee. That was a little harder for Verinty to come up with. She had not willing ran away in the first place. She had been kidnapped.

"What about your father?" asked Lavi. "We could say you found a lead that turned out to be a lie?" he posed it as a question, as if questioning the two females if it was a good suggestion. Verinty thought about it and it just might work. Komui had known that was her goal, either from hear-say or just from guessing that she might want to know her father. Komui was not chief when her mother left the Order, but Verinty had hints that said that her mother kept contact with the Chief of the Order. In other words, Komui.

"I think it would work" Verinty said, her voice soft. Her eyes then turned to watch the scenery go by as the train moved. She was silent for a long a while. Lavi and Lenalee chatted lightly as the train moved, but Verinty didn't really say much else. She was too lost in her thoughts. Every once in a while she felt a pull towards something not as real as the train and the seat where her fists were clenched. Lavi seemed to sense this every time and he touched her arm or her hand. Every time she'd look up, her eyes focusing on him. She smiled sadly, every time looking sorry and he'd give her a sad smile back. To her, it didn't look forced. It looked like a real smile.

Even if it would have looked forced, she didn't think she would care. She had realized that she had missed Lavi while she was stuck in that place. That place had been hell for her. She had hated it and even if she didn't remember all of it, she knew she had missed Lavi, even if she couldn't think of his face or his name. Only if a blurry memory of him came to her mind, she held onto it as long as she could, always trying to see his face, always trying to figure out his name. Now it was all so plain and obvious to see and as she looked upon Lavi now, she wondered why she hadn't been able to think of any of it before.

She knew that necklace had messed with her memories and even now, her memories of that place were hazy. When she was there, she had been able to remember everything that happened there fine and her memories of Lavi and the Order had been hazy. Now it was just the other way around. Her memory of the Order were perfect but that place...not so much.

She couldn't even remember where it was let along what had happened there. It was difficult for her to even think of the place. So she didn't. She pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She knew it would be unhealthy for her to try and force them. Besides it may have nasty after effects because of that necklace. She didn't want to suffer for a damn memory or two. She really didn't owe the Order anything. She didn't owe them much at least.

Sure they fed and clothed her, they watched out for her – mostly – on her mother's request but she owed the tribe of the Bookmen so much more because they were the ones her mother asked to watch out for her. Her eyes turned to Lavi and a sigh passed her lips. Lavi looked at her, Lenalee was asleep against the window.

"Thank you" she said, her voice quiet.

"For what?" he whispered.

"For saving me" And then she leaned against the seat. He seemed to know she was going to sleep. He touched her arm though, just briefly, his fingers brushing against her skin and then the contact was withdrawn. It was calming though. She enjoyed being close to Lavi, even if she would never tell him that herself. She never thought she could. He had a calming presence though and she was happy to be sitting near him. It made her dreams peaceful and clear.

Finally after traveling a while they arrived at the Order. Lenalee went to take the Innocence to Helvaska and Lavi lead Verinty who was pulling her cloak around herself and hunching over in an attempt to look like a man, to Komui's office. She walked, carefully shuffling while Lavi put his one hand on her back and kept his other hand on her arm.

Many people looked at them strangely and a few even stopped to ask Lavi who he was leading and where he was leading them to. He'd always say that "he" was an important visitor and that it was Bookman business and what-not. His lies seemed to pass of fairly well. In fact, most everyone bought his explanation. There were a few people who looked as though they didn't believe him but they didn't seem intent on stopping the two from reaching their destination.

Finally they reached Komui's office and Lavi knocked, something he never usually did. He wanted to make sure the office was empty, for Verinty's safety. When he found it empty except for Komui, he pushed the door open and entered. Verinty followed directly behind him. Komui looked at her and then at Lavi.

"Who is this?" he asked, standing from his desk.

"It's me" she said and she pushed the hood back, clearing her hair out of her face. The clips fell out of her hair and he could see exactly who she was. A shocked look passed Komui's face. Of course Lavi could understand this since he had been shocked to see Verinty again. He never thought he would, but here she was, standing in Komui's office.

"Verinty...I thought by now that you were gone" She shook her head at his words.

"Nearly, but not truly." she answered. "I'm back now though"

"And where were you?" he asked. She bit her lip, and glanced at Lavi, clearly looking for help. Lavi's lips twitched into a smile and then he looked at Komui and placed a hand on Verinty's shoulder.

"She can't quite remember exactly where she was. She does know that it wasn't the best place for her to be though. We found her with Akuma and going after the Innocence" Lavi's voice was calm, Verinty looked a little uncomfortable. Actually she looked not scared – though there was a certain air around her to make one think she indeed was scared, like Komui might hurt her. Her face was brave though, but her hands were trembling. It gave everything away.

"They used some kind of...necklace to blur my memories and to keep my senses dull" she explained herself, her voice soft. There was no trembling in it. It was as if she was perfectly fine. Lavi was no fool though. He knew what she was feeling, he had spent enough time with her to see the little things in her face and in her body language to know close to what she feeling, if not exactly what her feelings were.

It brought him back to thinking about how she had said she had missed him. The look in her mismatched eyes told him nothing but the three words she spoke had been true. Maybe they were the truest thing she had ever said to him. Maybe not, but still he couldn't help but think that and almost blush because of the thought. He almost ducked his head down to hide his almost-blush but he kept himself in control.

"You...you were helping the Akuma?" asked Komui in a whisper. He leaned back against his desk, looking trouble. "This is most troubling news Verinty." She nodded, not looking shocked by his words. She looked troubled, but the brave look didn't leave her face. She was so much different from the Verinty he had met, she wasn't just a pretty face. It was a nice thought and it calmed Lavi a little. What ever happened next, she could handle it.

"What are you going to do with me?" she asked. She didn't even sound scared.

"Well...it depends. You have no information on the enemies?" he asked and she shook her head. "Did you give any information about the Order to them?" again she shook her head. "Do you feel they'll come to the Order to look for you?" for the third time, she shook her head.

"I doubt they'll come here to get me. They'll wait for me to leave before they attack me again" she explained, looking a tad bit afraid. She didn't say that she was afraid though and her eyes hardened in a moment. "If I leave the Order again, no doubt they'll take me away again."

Komui was silent for a long, nerve-wracking moment. Finally he sighed, pushing his glasses up his nose. "After considering everything...I decided that you should stay within the safety of the Order" he said. A smile broke out on Lavi's face. "But" and then the smile was gone. There was always a 'but' involved. "We can't tell the Order the story you told me"

"We weren't planning on it" Lavi said with another grin flashing across his face. "We were going to tell everyone that she found a lead on her father, which turned out to be false"

"Why didn't you just tell me that version?" asked Komui, looking curious. He wanted to be lied to? That was an odd thing for him to say.

"We figured it'd be better to tell you the truth" Verinty said, her voice soft. She glanced down, her golden and blue eyes focused on the floor for a long moment.

"Well, either way, thank you for telling me the truth instead of lying to me" he said, a small smile on his face. Suddenly the door opened and in came Lenalee, her hair down instead of up in its usual pigtails. A bright smile broke out on Komui's face. "Welcome home Lenalee!" His voice was cheerful and no longer serious as it had been a moment before.

"Hello brother" she said with a soft smile. "I suppose these two have already told you everything?" she asked.

"Yup!" he answered. Lavi could sense that Komui was about to pounce on his sister again. He was always doing that. His favorite time to pounce on her and give her a hug was when she just got back from a mission, which was the case.

"Well, we'll just be going now" Lavi said with a small wave. Without waiting, he grabbed Verinty's hand and tugged her out of the room. He kept her warm hand in his for a while, walking down the hall paying no mind to the people they passed. Finally she tugged her hand away, looking away. He gave her a questioning look, but she wouldn't meet his gaze. She just looked away, like the wall next to her was so interesting.

What had he done to upset her now?

He didn't know if asking her would be the wisest choice so he walked in silence next to her, his hands shoved in his pockets. Eventually she looked straight ahead again, but she didn't look at him. What had he done? He didn't get her sometimes, well mainly right now. She didn't seem upset...Actually, he didn't have a clue because she kept her face so even. Her body language wasn't giving him many clues either. It was rather annoying for one who had just thought how good he was at reading her and now to be foiled.

They were approaching her room and she slowed a little. Her eyes nearly glowed with the worry in them. "Is my room still there? My things?"

"No one touched your room Veri" he assured her, in a quiet voice. She took the last few steps and stood before her room again. She touched the door, as if that was something she never expected to do again. Then very slowly she opened it and pushed it open. The room was as she left it. The bed was hastily made, there were a dress on the floor and a silver bracelet from her mother as well. She bent down to touch the bracelet and then she picked it up, setting on her beside table, which had a layer of dust on it. She moved to the window and threw it open, letting the air in. The entire room smelled like dust. It wasn't horrible but it would be nice to air the place out.

Then she took a seat on the bed. She looked a little dazed and so Lavi sat next to her, hand on her arm. Even as she had paled over the last seven months, she was still tanner than anyone Lavi knew. A small smile came over his face and she looked up at him and she smiled too.

"I'm home" she said softly.

"Welcome home Veri" He grinned at her and she smacked his arm. She hated being called Veri. He figured she just hated nicknames in general, but that was alright. She could hate all she wanted, it wouldn't stop the bookman-in-training from calling her Veri.

A sigh passed her lips. "It's good to be home"

"You know what would make it even better?" he asked, a leaning forward to get a better look at her facial reactions.

"What?" she looked curious.

"Going to see Jerry" She laughed at that and stood.

"Let me change first" He nodded and stepped out of the room, his stomach grumbling at the prospect of waiting, even a little to let Verinty change. It didn't take her long. She came out in another dress. This one ran to about her knees, a stunning red color with a silver chain belt hanging loosely at her hip. Her hair was down and combed out, though rather quickly. Her feet were bare...Which didn't surprise Lavi at all.

"Okay, let's go" she said, a smile on her face. They walked calmly through the halls and a few people stopped them, with exclamations about how they though Verinty was gone forever or they thought she was dead. It seemed there were many theories on why the girl had not come back with Lavi. They listened to the people talk and Verinty answered them, but in as few words as possible. Sometimes she'd look to Lavi to answer for her. Lavi realized she was uncomfortable with the people in the Order, just like always.

Finally they made it to the dining hall. His eyes glanced around to see how busy it was there. Not really at all. A few Finders were eating, and he could see Lenalee getting coffee but that was it. His eyes turned to the counter where Jerry waited. Upon seeing the eye-patched boy, Jerry let out a whistle and waved him. His eyes glanced over to Verinty and he looked shocked. He stopped mid-wave and his hand dropped. The pair approached and Jerry gave Verinty a once-over.

"Where have you been hiding all these months honey? Not out in the sun, because look at that beautiful tan you had! You're much paler than you were" he gave her a worried look. "At least you're back though. Back safe and sound." his eyes darted to Lavi. "You watch out for her better this time" He shook his finger at Lavi and Lavi couldn't help but smile a little.

"I'll try" he replied.

"You better do more than try, or even that pretty face of yours won't get you a meal here" Jerry said, but his tone was clearly teasing. Verinty giggled a little, covering her mouth with her hand to quiet the sound.

"Thank you Jerry" She was smiling.

"No problem hon!" he said, clearly proud of himself for getting both a smile and a giggle out of her. "Now what I can I get you two?" They placed their orders and waited for them to be done. They took their food to their own table and took a seat at a empty table where Exorcists regularly sat. They ate in silence, much like Verinty seemed to do things. Silence. That seemed to be her big thing. She was quiet but her voice was the most powerful thing about her. The power of her voice...it was unreal. He wondered were that power came from. Who was her father? Or was this the power of Innocence? He doubted that it was actually Innocence that gave her this power. If it was, it was damn powerful Innocence.

He doubted it was Innocence then. Innocence wasn't that powerful. He couldn't think of when it ever was at least. That ruled out Innocence. Then what was it? What powered her? Made her powerful?

Could it just be part of who she was? He doubted that, but at the same time it almost seemed right to think that. It seemed right to think that it was just a natural part of who she was. Awkward too, but right. He shook his head. He was getting no where.

He spent the rest of the day with Verinty and a small part of it explaining everything to Bookman. Of course Bookman got the whole detailed story. He would want every detail that Lavi remembered. It was a lot, but after he explained everything it was already time for bed. He said good night to Verinty – which surprisingly ( or maybe not ) Bookman seemed to disapprove of this. Lavi shrugged it off.

"_Sneaking off like that!" snapped Road._

"_Naughty! Naughty!" crowed the blonde, in her dreams she recalled his name was 'Jasdero'. His twin's name was 'Devit'. She knew all of their names in the dream, no the Nightmare._

"_Why did you run off with that Bookman?" asked Road. She tilted her head, as if she were truly trying to figure out why Verinty had left them. Verinty took a step back, looking frightened. _

"_Becuase Lavi came to save me" she said, trying to sound strong._

"_Haha, you really believe that? It was just by _chance_ that you were in the same place that he was. Nothing more" Road said, a cruel smile on her face. "Don't you be a fool and think otherwise."_

"_Hii, he's just using you" Jasdero said, pointing his gun at Devit._

"_Wonder what else he uses you for" Devit let out cruel laughter and shoved the gun against Jasdero's head with such force that Jasdero almost fell over. Jasdero laughed as if it were funny._

"_You look so pale Verinty...We really should have let you out more" The Road-doll touched her face and Verinty took another step back and bumped into someone. She turned, expecting Tyki but it was the mean Lavi._

"_So you're back here again" he leaned down a little, his face in her's. "Do you really like me that much? Miss me that much?" A hot blush ran across her face and she backed up away from him. _

"_Sh..Shut up" she ordered. "This is just a nightmare" _

_Road laughed and she turned stiffly to look at the girl. Her sharp teeth snapped back together and Verinty wanted to flinch back away but she held her ground, her fists clenching, as if she'd hit the younger girl. She wouldn't, but she almost wanted to. The fake Lavi smiled at her, a cruel, but handsome, smile lighting his face._

"_You're getting brave aren't you? Calling this 'just a nightmare'." His words filtered out, slow and lazy-like._

"_You're a fool" chirped Devit._

"_Fool, mean nasty girl too" chirped Jasdero beside him. They both grinned._

_Suddenly as if out of the shadows, Tyki stepped up next to Lavi, whom Verinty was facing. His eyes narrowed, looking past her, probably at the twins. "Are you two going to play here all day?" he asked, sounding annoyed. Yes, he was talking to the twins._

"_Shut up"_

"_Stupid Tyki" the growled. _

"_You have things to do" he said, his voice rather non-threatening, but Verinty had a feeling he was indeed threatening them. She didn't turn to see them but she felt them slink into the darkness. Tyki looked at her, his golden doll-eyes gazing at her as he gazed back. His eyes dropped down, to look at her feet._

"_Ah" he said, a small smile playing on his face. "It's starting so soon Road?"_

_She was afraid to look down and see what he meant. She looked up at Lavi who had taken quite a few steps away from her at this point and was inspecting her as one did an ant he was about to crush. She didn't like the look that he or Tyki was giving her. She heard Road laugh and stiffened as the doll's hand ran down her arm and locked around her wrists as if she were going to hold Verinty still. Vertiny felt pressure build inside her, like she wanted to scream._

"_Yes," Road answered. "So soon...so soon...Soon Verinty, you can feel it already though can't you? The changes that are happening...how different you are from all of...them" She knew that Road was grinning, showing rows of sharp teeth. She worked on keeping herself calm. Lavi and Tyki were watching._

"_I don't know what you're talking about" she said, taking a slow breath. Stay calm, stay calm. That was her only hope here. She had to stay completely calm. She couldn't show fear, couldn't run away and so she had to show calmness. She had to be calm._

"_Oh? Why don't you look at your hands for starters" Road suggested and there was a smugness to her voice that Verinty didn't like. Carefully she gazed downwards, at her hands. She looked at them and a look of horror spread over her face. No...it couldn't be._

_Her hands looked just like theirs – they were the hands of a doll._

"No!" she screamed bolting upright in bed. "I'm not like you!" She felt tears, of fear no doubt, prick her eyes. She was afraid to go back to sleep. She was afraid to go back to sleep. Uneasiness ran through her. She...she didn't want to do this anymore but she could see no way to get around her Nightmares unless she planned to give up sleeping.

Her door suddenly opened and she jumped away from it on her bed, scrambling to get away from whatever was coming for her. She flinched, closing her eyes and bringing up her hands to stop anyone from touching her but she only felt the weight tilt on her bed as the person sat on it.

"Veri?" she opened her eyes and looked. It was Lavi. Only Lavi. His hair was a mess, a frown on his face and his shirt was big enough to be falling off his shoulder, exposing his skin. "Are you alright? Did you have another nightmare?"

She nodded. "Lavi...They're so horrible. I'm going to be just like them. I was almost like them in nightmare" She said, her voice low. Fear made it tremble a little but none of the words broke.

"It's just a nightmare Verinty" he said softly. "You'll be fine." He started to scoot off the bed but she grabbed his hand, holding it tight. He looked at her questioningly. Her head was bowed, both her hands held onto his one.

"Please...Stay with me"

"Veri...I...I can't..."

"Please!" she begged, her voice so desperate. "Please Lavi, please"

"Verinty...it's not right..." he tried to keep his voice soft, but firm.

"Please Lavi! You're the only one I trust!" the words spilt out of her mouth and she didn't look up after saying it. She meant it though. He was the only one she trusted. She couldn't afford to trust others. It was just him.

"Verinty..." his voice was now uncomfortable.

"Please Lavi" she whimpered looking up at him. She was too scared to spend the night alone and Lavi was the only person she knew she could depend on. He had been the only person she had ever depended on.

A sigh passed his lips and his other hand lifted to scratch his messy hair.

"Fine" he answered at last, a frown turning his lips.

"Thank you Lavi...thank you so much" He sighed again. She knew he didn't like this. She actually didn't either. She didn't want to depend on another, but Lavi was...Lavi was good. She could trust Lavi, even if he was a Bookman. He had saved her after all.

She smiled slightly at him, her eyes still scared. He smiled back at her, slightly reassuring, but there was something underneath it. She couldn't name it, but it almost looked like he was scared of something.

What could he be scared of? Trust? She pushed the thought out of her mind. No one was afraid of trust.

* * *

Chapter 9 is finally up! I'm sure you all are happy to see it :'3 Leave some reviews please~!


	10. Trust

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Trust**

The morning came and Lavi opened his eye, not in his room but in Verinty's. She was still sleeping, but sleeping calmly. She didn't have another nightmare that night. She had just slept and he had too. He didn't think sleeping next to her was awkward, he just thought it bad. He was getting attached to her. There was no denying it, he was attached to her. He was, he couldn't just brush it off and pretend he wasn't because he was. He was breaking a Bookman rule, but he couldn't help it. It didn't seem completely bad. It just seemed...like it might be harder. If he ever had to leave this place, ever had to leave her, it would be just a tad bit harder than it would have been if he didn't become attached. A sigh passed his lips and he sat up. He got out of bed and walked to his room. Bookman was up and gone. He got dressed and fixed his hair, keeping it spiked up in his headband. He looked at the small mirror they had in the room. It was so Bookman could fix his hair. He looked at himself.

He looked the same as always, red hair, green eye, eye-patch, headband. He felt like he was different though. He touched his cheek, the person in the mirror did too. It was him, but it almost felt like it wasn't. He still had his good looks, he'd die if he didn't, but something felt off, wrong. He heard the door open and saw Verinty. So maybe she had been awake? Her hair was already combed. Had he been standing in here a while? She smiled lightly at him, it seemed hesitant, but it was there. Her eyes darted to the mirror as well, as if she was looking at what he was looking at.

"You wanna go get breakfast?" he suggested and she nodded. He walked out the door and she followed him, her feet bare. He wondered why she ran around barefoot when the floor was stone and therefore very cold usually. She seemed content though and he didn't bother her with his desire for her to wear shoes. They walked to the kitchen and a few people seemed shocked yet to see Verinty. She talked to Jerry easily, a few words passed between them and then he gave her and Lavi their food. They sat down over by Lenalee and Lavi talked with her. They chatted easily while Verinty ate in silence.

"How are you feeling Verinty?" asked Lenalee suddenly and the other girl looked up at the first. She had a piece of toast in her mouth. She quickly bit her piece off and swallowed it before answering Lenalee.

"I'm feeling...fine. Good. Better..." She answered though it almost sounded unsure.

"That's good" Lenalee looked relived. "I was worried by brother wouldn't let you in here" she said, her voice dropped a little. "I'm glad your back though" Verinty shrugged and went on eating. Lavi and Lenalee went back to their talking. Then when they had all finished they left. Verinty wandered off on her own, saying she was going to the library. Lavi and Lenalee went to train. They arrived at the training room before long and Lavi spotted his favorite friend, Yuu-chan. A grin spread over his face and Lenalee gave him a warning look before he dashed over to Kanda.

"Yuu-chan!" he called to the Japanese male. He was almost over to him when the male took a swipe at him with his sword.

"Listen, Baka, I hate it when you call me that!" growled the irritable young man. Lavi just smiled at him, he had easily dodged the blow with the sword. Kanda just looked more annoyed. "Che...I heard you found that girl" He seemed to be starting a conversation. Kanda actually had never gotten to meet Veri.

"Yeah, I found her. Do you want to meet her Yuu-chan? She's at the library right now" He said, a grin still on his face. He saw Kanda twitch when he used the name he hated more than anything with him. Lavi kept his grin from getting to wide, he was enjoying himself after all. He just didn't want Kanda to chop him in half. He'd rather keep in one piece. He knew that Kanda did like him though. Even if he hated Lavi's nickname for him.

"No. I don't want to meet her! I was just saying what I heard." He turned away, clearly going to walk away and do training elsewhere. It made Lavi think. Did Verinty ever train her power? Her power was beautiful, artwork in a way. He had only seen her use it a few times but it was something that he liked to watch her use. He could sit and listen to her read all day. Her power was amazing. He didn't even think people could have powers like that but she obviously wasn't a regular person. She was something different but that wasn't always a bad thing.

"Well, I'll introduce you to her at dinner tonight okay?" Lavi said with a smile, acting like Kanda had said nothing about not wanting to meet Verinty. Kanda stopped walking away for a moment to turn and look at Lavi. He rolled his eyes, looking angry about it, and then walked away. Maybe he was going to train in the forest outside the Order. He did that sometimes. Lavi watched him go and turned, drawing his Anti-Akuma Weapon. Leanlee walked to his side, her's already activated.

"You shouldn't torment Kanda so" she said to him, a small frown on her cute face. Lavi grinned at her, waving his hand, waving her words off.

"What else am I supposed to do with my day?"

"Try not to torment Kanda?" she suggested, but it was half-hearted.

"Or I could tease Kanda and get my work out for dodging his blade" Lavi said, a small laugh falling out of his mouth. She rolled her eyes at him now, a smile on her lips, and then went back to her training. Lavi never understood why she wore that small skirt when Komui was so protective of her. If he didn't want guys leering at his sister, he should probably not have her wear that tiny skirt. Lavi didn't watch her, just for the fact that he didn't want Komui to kill him or slip some strange potion in his drink or something along those lines. Lavi wanted to avoid all of those things. He'd rather keep all his limbs, not be poisoned or turned into a zombie or something stupid and silly like that. He wanted to keep himself in rather good health. He didn't want to evoke the wrath of Komui,

Well either way, with those thoughts aside. Lavi had to train. He didn't know where Bookman was, nor was he going to go looking for the old man but he had things he had to do too. He knew Bookman actually wanted him to train a little, to keep his skills from getting rusty, to keep from getting himself killed. He couldn't die because he was the next to be Bookman and he doubted the old man had time to train another kid to be the next Bookman. So, Lavi knew it was best if he actually kept himself alive.

Verinty sat in the library. There weren't many works of literature here, mainly just reports filed away. She found a book and picked it up, happy to find it was an actual book. Her eyes turned down to the pages, reading the story within the book, a small smile on her face. She loved reading, she loved being able to read and she was very well aware that some people did not know how to read well. Her mother had taught her, been very careful to teach her. She wondered if her mother knew...

No.

There was no way her mother could have known about her power.

Unless...

Who was her father? Was he...was he one of those people? Could he have been one of those people? They all...were strange. She remembered that much but her mind's eye couldn't see them as clearly as she had once seen them. Was her father among them? Or had he once walked among them? The thought scared her. It felt _right_ though. It felt like her father was once among them, which meant that it made sense for her to be among them. Was the Order _not_ where she belonged?

Fear clenched in her stomach and she gripped the book's cover so hard her knuckles turned white. This was where she was but it was not where she belonged? Why kind of cruel world would allow her to figure this out now. Suddenly the door to the library opened and her eyes turned to look and see who it was. It was Lavi and he had some bread, cheese and a drink on a tray.

She looked at him, wondering why he had brought this to her. She gave him a questioning look, not loosening her grip on the book. She couldn't just yet. She was holding onto her world from that book and denying everything that her instincts were screaming. She was one of the, she was one of them, she was one of them. _Them?_ Her own mind questioned her instincts.

"Are you alright Veri?" he asked.

"Yeah. What's with that?" she motioned to the tray of food.

"Do you know what time it is? I finished my training a while ago. It's an hour past dinner. Jerry was worried so he made me bring you this" Lavi held up the tray a little higher, as if he wanted her to see it better. He brought it over to her. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked.

"I'm just...connecting some dots" She replied and she looked away. She knew Lavi wanted to ask. She could feel coming off him but he held back and she wondered by. He held the tray out to her.

"Well you can't do that on an empty stomach." She took the tray from him, sitting it on her lap and eating a piece of the bread. She was surprised to find that it was warm inside. She'd have to thank Jerry later. "What are you reading?" he pointed to the book that she had set aside and she handed it to him. She was busy eating, she found that she was starving. He looked at the book and then handed it back to her. She tucked it against her leg again and ate in silence.

Lavi folded himself onto the floor in front of her and looked around, waiting for her to be done. She finished rather quickly and she set the tray aside. He smiled at her and asked a question she wasn't expecting him to ask. "Do you practice you power?" he had asked before, she had gotten mad at him but now she started at him and then sighed.

"No"

"Why not?"

"I don't have much control"

"You won't get better unless you practice"

"I don't want to"

He was silent for a moment. She looked at him. He was frowning, clearly thinking about something. "Will you let me watch you practice?"

"I'm not going to practice, so that'll be kinda hard" She replied, yawning lightly.

"Please?"

She glared at him. "No"

"Verinty, please. You should practice your power anyway." he said, and she glared at him a moment longer and then sighed.

"You're right." She stood and walked out of the room though. She heard him stumbling after her. He nearly had to run to keep up with her. When he finally caught up to her he walked beside her, surprised when she stopped and flung open the door to her room. He followed her in, closing the door behind him.

She walked over to her bed, grabbed a beaten and worn black book and then sat down on her bed and looked at him. She opened the book and then said "Lock the door" He complied and then walked over to her bed and sat down by her. He looked at her book and she opened it. She held it up to her face and read. She read and he sat there and listened, not sure what else to do. She read because he had suggested that she practice and now she was. She read each word slowly, pronouncing each syllable easily. Her words flowed like clear water down a stream.

As she read, reading of a bracelet that would appear when a hand was held out, she noticed Lavi holding out his hand, hoping that the bracelet might appear in his hand maybe. It started to. The silver wrapping its way from nowhere into the boy's hand. The red and blue gems were the next to appear and then finally the tiny details that she read about. When it was done, he looked at it curiously as Verinty closed her book and sat in on her lap.

"Did you write about this?" he asked.

"Yes. I have a lot written in here" she said, stroking the back of the worn black cover. "I get an idea in my head and I write it down, to make sure that if I ever need the idea I have it..." She said, her voice now soft.

"That's a good idea" He examined the bracelet a little bit deeper now, it was right before his face and was looking at the gems on it. "Are these real...?"

"I don't know...I read them as sapphires and rubies...but I don't know if they're real or not" He tapped them with his finger but didn't seem pleased with her answer. How was she supposed to know if they were real or not? She was not a expert on gems and jewels and such. Her eyes turned back to her book and she stroked the cover again.

He looked at her and handed her the bracelet. "Can you read anything else out of the book?" he asked, a curiousness in his voice that he couldn't suppress. A small smile touched her face at the thought. He was a good person, worthy of her trust. Bookman or not. He was a good person. She trusted him and she realized that he was the only person she trusted. She trusted him more than she trusted herself. Why? That was an easy one.

She kept feeling them...or she thought it was them...pulling on her. Pulling on her mind, on her body and sometimes on her very soul, trying to get her to sink into that state where they could pull her away, get her away. Take her away again. It terrified her but she wouldn't let Lavi know that. That was none of his concern, though she realized she relied on him more than she really wanted to. She needed him because without him she had no one but herself and she could not do this alone. She needed him, she needed him more than anything.

"Yes." she answered him. "I can" And so she did.

That was how their nights became. They stayed up late so she could practice her power in the dead of night when there were no eyes to watch her as she did what Lavi loved watching her do. He was so interested in her power, he always asked questioned her and asked her to do it over and over again. She enjoyed her time with him though and they soon began to talk and laugh late into the night as well.

Verinty could admit that she was happy and that she felt at home now. She slowly started talking to other people and they came to know her as a pretty shy, but sweet girl who didn't talk much, except to Lavi. She was almost always with Lavi then. She liked to watch him train too then. She'd make comments, sometimes teasing, when he was training and she really changed.

She started talking to Lenalee a little more and even met Kanda, but she didn't tease him like Lavi did. She didn't like nicknames but that was easy to see because she still corrected him when he called her 'Veri' instead of Verinty. Sometimes, if it was night and she had her book, she'd read some sort of minor revenge on him but for the most part, she seemed happy. She didn't go on missions with him though, afraid of leaving the safety of the Order's tower. She'd always see him off.

Lavi knew some people thought that the two of them were together because of this, but they weren't. He knew he was growing attached to her, more and more so by the day. He liked her smile, it was cute and he even got to see it more often now so that was always nice. Actually Lavi had to say that he was happier now too. He didn't want to say that Verinty was the cause though, it would be a bad idea to say that. He actually had many friends in the Order now though, or at least people he called "friends". He got along with most people in the Order but they were also used to seeing Verinty somewhere behind him. She sometimes even played pranks on people with him. He actually got to see a side of her that no one ever had seen and he didn't think that she'd show to many others.

Days turned to weeks and weeks turned to months. Before they knew it they were both over the age of sixteen and into the new year of seventeen.

Everything was different for Verinty. She had a friend, a good friend, a best friend who knew everything about her and she could trust. It was an odd feeling, trusting someone but she trusted Lavi. She really did. He did nothing to betray her trust either. She often walked through the halls with him, talking, laughing and sobering up when another person came too near by the smile never left her face.

She also didn't have nightmares anymore. They had long since faded. She didn't know why she didn't have them anymore but they no longer haunted her at night. She slept peacefully and easily, even without Lavi there. Oddly he still spent some nights in her room and she found that comforting. It wasn't often, just every once in a while when he was too tired to walk across the hall to his room after their nightly activities. She enjoyed showing him her power now and she had stopped thinking of it as a curse. Everything seemed a little brighter for the girl now.

Though one thing depressed her.

She could no longer search for answers about her father. She had to stay in the safety of the castle. She always waited for Lavi in the tower. She never left it. She could no longer search for her father, but Lavi assured her that he would search for her. He never came with many answers though. She never told him what dots she had connected though. She knew she should, it might lead him in the right direction but she didn't want to speak those words out loud. She didn't even want to think it.

When Lavi was around, she didn't. When he left for a mission sometimes her mind wandered in a dangerous direction. She'd always make sure to go and be around other people when it happened. She'd go to the cafeteria or go to the training room or go see Lenalee. Lenalee and her were on pretty good terms now, but she didn't hang out with the other girl very often. She spent more time with Jerry actually. She loved to talk to the man and he enjoyed talking with her as it seemed. He was nice to her and she enjoyed his company because of it.

She always enjoyed Lavi's more though. Lavi was her best friend. She didn't know if he knew it but she didn't really care. She knew it and she supposed that all that matter. She was happy, he was happy and that was all she really cared about at the moment.

She sat in her room, writing as usual. Lavi was out on a mission. He had been gone for a week and she was worried about him. She worried about him a lot though and she wouldn't deny it. She wasn't as quiet as she had been before. She was far from outgoing though. When Lavi wasn't there and she wasn't having an episode, she was usually somewhere by herself, as she was right now. She closed her eyes, envisioning the object she was writing about. It was a dagger. She had only written about one weapon before this dagger and she never summoned them in front of Lavi. She did not want to summon a weapon in front of Lavi.

It brought her mind back to the day she first used her power. The day she almost killed Lavi. If she hadn't awakened...Well she didn't know what would have become of her. Something bad, or maybe she would have found out about who her father was or at this point what her father was. She still wondered and sometimes wished the nightmares would come back, just so she could ask the people in them about who her father had been. What they were, where her father was, why he had not been in her life, why she had this power.

It was a curse at first. She had been scared of it at first and it had been unstable but now she had much more control. She was doing pretty well with it now. She had a few slip ups every once in a while but the backlash always came back on her. There were a few scars on her hands now. She didn't mind them. She knew that Lavi worried every time she got hurt. She always brushed it off though. It never really mattered in the end.

There was a knock on her door and she closed the book and stood up, opening the door. Lenalee stood on the other side, a small smile on her face. "You weren't going to skip dinner again were you Verinty?" she asked. Verinty glanced at the time.

"Oh. Sorry, I didn't realize" she replied and then she walked on the door, closing it behind her. They walked together towards the cafeteria, in silence. She wondered if Lenalee had eaten yet but she didn't ask. She didn't want to break the silence between them because it was an understanding one. Leanlee understood that Verinty didn't like to talk when Lavi wasn't around, that she felt less secure when Lavi was around.

They were only half way there when Lenalee's voice came to her ears, hesitate almost as if she was afraid to as Verinty, "You like him...don't you?"

She stopped, mid-step and Lenalee walked to steps ahead before turning back to look at Verinty. She waited for Verinty to answer but Verinty just looked at the other girl, a look of shock on her face. She lowered her other foot to the ground and her look became thoughtful.

"What do you mean?" she asked. They walked again, more slowly.

"Well..." Lenalee thought about her words before she spoke them. "You're always around him, you're always happy around him and I noticed he's happier around you. I see how you smile at him. You never use that smile on anyone else. I figure...it's a special smile for him. And with that thought...comes the one that I think you might like him...More than a friend"

Verinty thought about it and then shook her head, her long hair splaying around her. "No" She answered. "But...I get what you mean. I like Lavi, but only as a friend. He's my best friend"

Lenalee smiled, like she didn't believe Verinty. "If you say so, but I'm convinced there's more going than you...or Lavi...will admit" She smiled and laughed lightly at the situation.

"Wait! What do you mean by that? Did you...did you talk to Lavi too?" she asked, her mouth open in a 'o' shape.

"Well we did have a mission together just a little while ago" she answered. Verinty waited for her to go on. "Ah...yes, I did talk to him"

"W...What did he say?" she asked, curious.

"He wouldn't answer me" she said, a smile playing on her pale face. Verinty felt heat fill her cheeks. If he didn't answer did that mean...?

"I'm sure I'm just a friend to him as well" she said and then they reached the cafeteria and Verinty hurried over to Jerry to get her food.

Lenalee's words bounced around in her head though. They wouldn't leave. Even as she sat around and tried to eat without thinking about it, it stayed in her brain and it wouldn't leave her alone. How did Lavi feel about her? He couldn't feel more deeply for her than for a friend could he? He was a Bookman after all and they didn't like to form romantic bonds. She felt the blush creep back into her face, just thinking about it. Lavi was a good looking guy, but...she really didn't know how she'd feel if he liked her.

She suppose she'd ask and find out when he returned.

* * *

I know this chapter is a little short but I hope you enjoyed it either way. I'm sorry it did take so long. College is a bit more than I thought it would be, so chapters may be coming out slowly so I'm sorry ): I will try to get the next chapter out sooner~ I hope you enjoyed

Note: Know things are going to start getting more...dark soon. You have been warned.


	11. Innocence

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Innocence**

Komui was working on some paperwork when the knock came to his door. He thought nothing of it. He didn't even look up from the stacks of paper on his desk. He heard the second knock and the annoyed person clearing their throat. He glanced up at the door, his eyes narrowing in an annoyed way before leaning back in his chair with a sigh, He supposed he better let the people on the outside.

"Come in" he said finally. The door swung open and in walked the two people he last expected to see. He expected at least a call from them before they arrived not this. He stood, quickly, almost falling in his haste. He wondered who had all saw them and why no one had warned him.

"It's good to see you Chief Komui" the man said.

"And you look well...Inspector Leverier. As do you Link" Komui's voice was stiff but he didn't care. He just tried to appear calm. "And why have you decided to visit us?" he asked.

"Just an regular inspection" Leverier said. "But...we do have an interest in a person who is staying here...I suppose you can arrange a meeting, can't you Komui?" the man smiled at Komui like they were old friends. Komui knew who he was talking about and nodded. There was only one person just 'staying here', as he said.

"Of course but-"

"No buts." Leverier's voice was still pleasant, with a slightly threatening undertone. Komui nodded, knowing he had to comply but not knowing exactly what he wanted with her, and then hurried away to do as Leverier bid. He really didn't have a choice, even though he had a very bad feeling about what was about to happen. He wished he had known. Then he could have told her not even the Order was a safe place for her.

Verinty opened her eyes, alone. Lavi still wasn't back but the thought of her proclaimed best friend brought a blush to her cheeks. Every time she thought of him, Lenalee's words came flocking to her mind like a thousand annoying birds. She couldn't help it. The thought of him _liking _ her made her blush and made her kind of...giddy. It was almost like she wanted him to like her but...She didn't know how she felt about him. She wasn't sure yet. She wanted to know though so she laid bed thinking.

He was a Bookman. She knew from what her mother had casually said about the tribe of Bookmen, they didn't take lovers of any sorts. They were always distanced from people but Lavi and her...they seemed close. She cared about Lavi. She knew he cared about her enough to save her from _them_. He cared about her and she cared about him but that didn't mean that they...

She blushed again and got out of bed. Her hair was a tangled mess and she spent about an hour getting ready. She hoped that Lavi returned that day. She really wanted to talk to him about this. He had to answer her questions. She wouldn't allow him to just avoid them. No. That wouldn't do. She needed to know how he felt about her and the whole truth. Not just some little half-truth that he made up because he's a Bookman. She wanted to know for real. She needed to know or she'd never rest well. She just wanted to know...She needed to know and she wouldn't let Lavi get away with not answering or walking away. It just wouldn't do.

She looked at herself in the mirror. Her tan was much paler now, she confined herself within the Black Order now, she was losing her natural tan. She wished she could go out in the sun again but it just wasn't a good idea anymore. She closed her mismatched eyes and missed the sun for a moment. There was suddenly a knock on her door and she moved over to it, throwing it open, a bright smile on her face. A disapointed looked washed over her face when she realized it was Komui and not Lavi that was at her door. She leaned against the door, smiling lightly, trying not to appear rude.

"Komui, what can I help you with?" she asked.

"I need you...to come with me to Hevlaska's chambers.." He seemed stiff, not playful and happy-go-lucky like he usually was. Verinty blinked at him and smoothed down her light blue dress and then stepped out of her room closing the door, nodding. She did not trust Komui, but she also did not think he would ever do something to hurt her. She knew who Hevlaska was, she had met him when she went to go with Lavi to take Innocence to her. Hevlaska herself had given Verinty a dreadful feeling. She had wanted to turn and walk away from her right away but she stayed by Lavi's side. She didn't move because she trusted him.

"Why?" she asked Komui when they reached the elevator.

He didn't answer, just beckoned her forward and she did as he said. She didn't know why he was acting so strange but it made her want to run away, to get away from Komui. She never had such a bad feeling in her life. She should have brought her book with her. What if something bad happened to her?

Wait...No, Lavi was the only one who knew about her power. She rather keep it that way. She didn't want to become a topic of Science. She didn't want them to try and guess why she was being summoned to the chambers of the keeper of the cube. She didn't really understand why. She wanted to but the answer kept escaping her. She looked at Komui as the elevator rose.

She wanted to ask Komui again but she didn't want to get annoying to him. She leaned against the bars of the elevator, feeling it moving. She didn't like it, how it moved or how it sounded but she stayed silent. She wanted to get to where Hevlaska was though, see what was needed of her and then go back to waiting for Lavi. She blushed again, the red showing against her lighter cheeks now that her tan was fading. She wanted to forget about what Lenalee had talked to her about but it was hard. The words jumped into her mind, to the forefront, at the worst time. Like right now. She didn't want to think about it and shook her head, trying to forget, but the thoughts stayed in her heads.

She lowered her head and blushed though. A smile was on her face, she didn't know why, but it made her smile. Maybe she wanted to like Lavi? Maybe she did? She blushed again, the color spreading and deepening. Maybe it was what she wanted, but she knew that she shouldn't want it. It wasn't right to want it. He was her friend, but he was the first person she had trusted, so maybe it was right? They had been friends for months now. Maybe it was alright – normal – to feel like this. She didn't know what was normal though. She closed her eyes and then the elevator jolted, making her open her eyes again.

"Come on, Verinty" Komui said and she followed him off the lift and to the platform. She stood before Hevlaska for a long moment before she noticed someone else standing off to the side and she looked over at the man. He was taller than her and carried a serious air. He had blonde hair and a mustache. "Inspector Leverier..." Komui said quietly. The man, Leverier, smiled and then looked at Verinty. She wanted to flinch away from, get away from him. He gave her a worse feeling. She shot a look to Komui, a look for help, but he wasn't looking at her.

"You must be the girl that went missing for seven months" Leverier said, a smile that looked curious played on his lips. She wanted to turn and run away from him. She stiffly nodded, crossing her arms over her chest, closing herself up to him. She rolled her weight to the leg that was furthest from him as well, letting him know she wanted to make a run for it.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice suspicious. Her eyes stayed locked on his, waiting for him to twitch or reach for her or anything that would make her react in running for it. Where would she run though? She would be trapped unless she took the elevator.

"Hevlaska" he called and the looming Exorcist appeared. She was beautiful in a creepy sort of way. Verinty's eyes flickered to her then back to Leverier. "Implant Innocence into her"

"No!" shouted Komui, he looked like he wanted to lurch forward but he didn't.

"Komui...I already told you we wanted to preform a _non-fatal_ test. Don't worry, she'll be fine" He turned to Hevlaska. "Implant Innocence in her now"

Verinty backed away, getting ready to flee from the coming tendrils. Before she could go too far they caught her. She struggled against them, kicking and trying to pull her arms away. She closed her eyes and struggled more. When she opened them again, she was staring Hevlaska in the face. She looked at the Exorcist and she could feel a whimper cut past her lips, showing her fear. The tendrils of Innocence wrapped around her legs and arms almost burned. Innocence...It scared her. She didn't like it.

"Be still...and it will hurt less" Breathed Hevlaska. Verinty shook her head. It would hurt, she knew it would. She saw Hevlaska preparing to put the Innocence into her and she sucked in a deep breath but before she could scream the woman touched the base of her throat, injecting the Innocence straight into her.

At first nothing happened. She was sure that maybe her body could stand this. Whatever gave her the idea that her body _couldn't_ stand this. A scream for help almost turned to a sigh of relief.

Then it turned to a scream of pain.

She had never felt something like this before. The pain hit every inch of her body, every vein of blood, every pore in her body and she screamed, screamed for the pain to stop. She begged for it. Stop the pain or kill her. Stop the pain or kill her _now_. She didn't want to suffer as she was. Nobody deserved to suffer that way. No one deserved to hurt that way. She wanted to breathe but found that air did nothing for her. Her body could absorb nothing because of the pain. It was overbearing, it was overwhelming and worse, she couldn't stop it and she even knew it's cause.

The Innocence.

It was tearing her body apart, she could feel the sharper pricks of pain as the Innocence tore into her skin, her flesh and hurt her more. She wanted to stop, she wanted to ask the Innocence to stop hurting her, but it was beyond her. She could only hope that it would kill her or leave her body soon. She knew she couldn't stand not breathing, not being able to think around the pain much longer. Her lungs screamed for air, her mind screamed for silence and she screamed for the pain to stop.

Suddenly it did. She found herself a crying, bleeding hunk of flesh on the landing by Hevlaska. Her body shook as sobs rocked her body, her blood dripped onto the floor. She coughed up more blood, the tears never stopping. She managed to open her eyes, managed to look at Komui whose eyes were wide with shock and some rage for what had happened. He turned to look at the other man, who had a slight smile about the corners of his mouth. She hated him. She hated that man. Her eyes narrowed and she found strength in the hate she had.

Somehow she found herself off the ground. Her limbs trembled, her legs were unstable. She felt as though she was going to fall. She saw her pretty light blue dress stained with red. Her hands gripped the dress, holding onto it. Her fingers could barely do that task.

"Verinty are you alright?" Komui's voice was worried. She shook her head, her hair a mess again.

Then she bolted past Komui and the man she hated, to the elevator. She pressed the button to start it up and pushed the lever all the way down so it would go down, fast. Komui shouted for her to stop, but she didn't, couldn't. She felt the elevator jerk under her and go down, fast, just as she wanted. It wasn't long before she reached a floor several away from Hevlaska and the two men. She stopped the elevator and stumbled off of it. People looked at her, a girl with hair in bunches, bloody wounds, some still bleeding and tears running down her face. She hurried past them, unable to control the sometimes choking sobs that reminded them too much of when the Innocence was choking her.

She couldn't go too far, but she found a place to hide and collapsed. She curled into herself and worked on stopping those choking sobs so that no one would ever, ever find her.

Lavi sighed, heading to Hevlaska's chambers. He had the Innocence and had to take it to her because the old man had things he wanted to do. Lavi had things he wanted to do too. He wanted to go talk to Verinty. He had been gone a while and he missed her.

A slight blush almost worked its way onto his cheeks when he thought of her because of Lenalee's words. He remembered her talking to him about if he liked her or not. Like _liked_ liked her. He hadn't answered her. He thought she got what she wanted out of the answer. He didn't like that people thought them together. They couldn't _be_ together, so even if he did _like_ her, there was nothing he could do about it. Actually, Bookman would probably insist that they pack up and leave that second if he did like Veri.

He reached the chambers and saw two people there. That wasn't unusual, it was just that one of them was Inspector Leverier. Lavi had met him and had been told about him via Bookman. His eyes darted to the man and then to Komui, who looked angry. That was rare. Komui rarely ever looked angry at all. He usually looked calm but not right now. He was glaring at Leverier.

"How dare you do that to her! She's a _child_ and such experiments are forbidden!" Komui hissed.

"She's alive isn't she? She had the strength to run away" Leverier replied. "Besides she had such an interesting..." He cut off as she spotted Lavi. Who were they talking about?

"I brought some Innocence" he said, his voice stiff and he offered it to Hevlaska.

She took it and he glanced around, looking for clues. He saw blood on the floor and his brow furrowed. Experiments? Someone was hurt. His eyes followed a trail to where the elevator usually would be. They had clearly had the strength to escape. His eyes went back to Komui, who was looking at him. As soon as Lavi met his eyes, he looked away. Suspicion grew within Lavi.

"Komui...who?" he asked. Komui didn't look at him. "Who?" he asked now, louder, wanting to hear it but already knowing. Again, Komui didn't answer. "Where _is_ she?" he shouted. He couldn't control himself. He had...Leverier had...Anger welled within him. He knew he shouldn't show it but the pain flashed across his face for a single moment. "_Where_ _is she?_" he shouted again.

"She ran away" Komui answered finally and then Lavi turned and ran too. How could this have happened? Why did it have to happen? He ran down stairs, wanting to search every floor, look everywhere until he found her, until he was sure she was alright.

"Verinty?" he called.

"Veri?" no answer.

They had been blood. A lot of blood. Was she? Could she be?

"Verinty! Answer me!"

Floor after floor he searched, winding down, down, down, down. He ran through the halls, he looked, he never stopped to look at another person. He was almost out of breath but he kept looking anyway. How could this have happened to her? If he had been here...If he had been there would he have been able to stop it? Should he have stopped it? He was a Bookman and she was...She was a person he was attached to. He shouldn't have cared. He shouldn't have been looking.

But he was.

He was far away, far from the two men when he heard a soft sob. He stopped, his eyes scanning the hallways. He looked, he didn't see at first and then tucked far into a corner that no one would see unless they stared at that place for a long moment, was Verinty. Her body was curled up into itself, She had her hand pressed against her mouth, her long hair was quivering as her body shook. Her dress was stained with blood.

"Verinty" he said, relief in his voice. He went to her and dropped to his knees by her. A startled gasp came from her lips and she pulled away from him. She curled deeper into herself, trying to put distance between the two of them. "Veri. It's me" He said, keeping his voice soft. She looked at him, her eyes went wide with relief and then she launched herself into his arms.

"Lavi" his name came out as a sob. He rubbed her back soothingly and held her close. She had been through so much. He could guess what had happened. He couldn't guess why the reaction was so...severe though. She was still bleeding a little, drops of blood making soft _plip_ noises as they hit the ground.

"Let's get you back to your room" he said and then he lifted her easily into his arms. He didn't care if he got bloodstained or not. Verinty seemed fine in his arms, almost relaxed, better. He took her to her room, taking back hallways and stairs, trying to avoid running into anyone. He didn't want to have anyone look at her while she was like this. He thought she was thankful.

Though...carrying her in his arms..He had to admit he liked it too. He did like women after all and he would be a fool to not like a woman such as her. She _was_ pretty. His one hand was under her legs and he could feel that her legs were smooth and the other hand that was at her back could feel the heat from her spine leaking against his hand. He suppressed a shiver.

This was wrong.

This was no time to think like this. She...She was hurt and besides that. Romantic attachments were a big 'no-no' for Bookmen. Friendships were out of bounds and liking someone more than a friend? Well he knew Bookman would pound all the beginner's lessons into his head again. He didn't want that so he had to be careful with her now.

He reached her room before long and managed to open the door and then kick it shut behind him. He sat her down and searched around for anything to treat wounds with. After he had found it, he began to treat her wounds, bandaging even the ones that were no longer bleeding. The worse one was on her right wrist. It was a little deep but he was sure she would heal fast.

"Verinty...I've been thinking" he said. She looked at him, her mismatched eyes afraid.

"What if they do that to me again Lavi?" she asked, her voice held fear. "I..I couldn't survive it Lavi. I'd die" her voice was a harsh whisper as she spoke.

"You'll be fine Verinty" he said. She shook her head at his words.

"Not if they do _that_ to me again" She wrapped her arms around herself, folding into herself, acting like she didn't trust him. He rubbed her arm lightly. She looked at him and then leaned onto his shoulder, closing her eyes. She wrapped his arms around her, holding her there. It didn't seem wrong to do so. Actually it seemed more right than anything he had ever done before. He closed his eyes too.

They stayed there like that for a long time and he opened his single green eye again.

"Verinty." he said. "Verinty...You need to tell them" She didn't open her eyes, but her brows furrowed as if she were having a bad dream. "I know you can hear me Veri" he said softly.

"I know you know" she said, opening her golden eye and gazing up at him. He looked at the single golden eye and suppressed a shiver. He didn't want to have to suppress one, but it just happened. There was something creepy about just her golden eye.

"Well...you need to tell them"

"Tell them what?" she asked, opening her blue eye now and sitting up a little. He let her go so he could look straight at her. Her face was curious, as if she did not know. He knew she did though.

"You need to tell them _everything_." he said. "Everything that has happened, everything about your power."

"No" she said. She looked evenly into his eyes as she said this. He sighed and ruffled his hair. How did he know she would say that?

"Verinty. You need to tell them everything we've figured out" he said, his voice holding a tone of warning.

"_No_:" she said, standing now.

"Verinty, don't be stubborn. If you don't tell them, they'll find out somehow. I know those people. They always get what they want. I'm just trying to protect you" He stayed sitting, staying calm for her sake. Someone had to stay calm. Someone had to use their head and her fear made her irrational. He had to be the rational one and he saw that telling them everything was the best thing to do. When all else failed, it helped to be truthful, to tell the truth and quite frankly...Verinty had too many secrets.

"I'm not being stubborn" she insisted. "I'm...protecting myself." she sat back down by him. "I don't know what they'll do to me. I figured out something Lavi...Something the Order won't like" She bit her lip, looking upset now.

"Tell me the Verinty. Tell me what the Order wouldn't like" He doubted it was anything bad. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

"You know those people who kidnapped me?" she asked.

"Yeah..." he said, unsure where this was going. "They all had weird abilities" She laughed at that, but her laugh was bitter and a little stale.

"That's right" she said. "Did you think _why_ they kidnapped me?"

"Because they're crazy? Because they want to use your gift for something bad?" She laughed again, closing her eyes this time as if she found it really humorous. She reminded him of the little girl when she laughed like that.

"Oh Lavi...and you're the smart one" She said, her eyes soft and sad now. "They kidnapped me because I'm _one_ of them. I belong with them and they know it. My father...was clearly one of them. That is probably why I have my power"

Lavi sat there for a long moment, trying to deny the information, but his brain wouldn't let him. His brain saw the truth in her words and he knew that she was right. Denying it would only being lying to himself and Lavi didn't want to lie to himself.

"You're right" he whispered. He looked up at her and she looked...smug. She also looked sad and scared. She was afraid of what happened next. They couldn't tell the Order though. That was the wrong action. He didn't know what came next actually. He didn't know what to tell her. He thought and their silence ranged on. He furrowed his brows, still thinking.

That was when her door was forced open, slamming against the wall, almost as if it had been kicked open. The two of them were on their feet in an instant. Leverier walked into the room, Howard Link at his side. Leverier looked amused by something. He looked at Verinty and he gave her the gaze one did to a wild animal who had just escaped their cage. She backed up, towards her bedside table and the black book that laid on it. A look of defiance was one her face.

"Stop there" ordered Leverier and she froze where she was. "You know we could hurt your Bookman friend if you raised arms against us?" She took a step away from the bedside table and glared at the man with true hate in her eyes. "Good girl" Lavi hated that he refered to Verinty as if she were some sort of animal. Maybe if he got a look at her power, he'd do otherwise, or maybe he'd think of her as a monster. Lavi quickly changed his mind about Verinty showing him her power. Then Leverier looked at Link. "Chain them both up, we're going to find out exactly what this girl is hiding."

Lavi glared at the two. They had probably been listening outside. He held out his wrists and the man, Link put the spell over his wrists to keep him from running. Verinty didn't hold out her wrists, she glared at the man and suddenly she kicked out his legs and ran at the Inspector. Before she could hit him too, Link had tackled her, pinned her hands behind her back and preformed the spell there too before pulling her up again. She struggled but Lavi knew she would not break free.

"Let's go you two" Leverier turned and started to walk out. Lavi followed, his mouth in a sharp frown. Link shoved Verinty and she walked then. She still looked stubborn, like she wanted to fight. Her eyes dashed to him though and Lavi knew she would not fight, for his sake.

Lavi looked at his friend, in her eyes, at the fear in her eyes and he frowned sharper. "I'm sorry" he whispered and the thing about that statement was that he truly, with all his heart, meant it.

* * *

Woot~ Two chapters in the same week~ I'm really pumped to be writing this story right now!  
Poor Verinty though, I feel bad for her and how I'm abusing the poor girl. Don't worry though, the next chapter gets darker~!  
Now if I may ask all of you readers something; Who do you think Verinty's father is? I have given some hints throughout the story. There was one really big one a few chapters back but I believe many of you may have overlooked it. No, I'm not going to tell you what it was again. But if you could, leave a review and tell me who you think Verinty's father is. I'm curious to know who you guys think it is~


	12. Scream

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Scream**

Leverier led the way and Link brought up the rear. Sometimes Lavi heard him push Verinty, shoving her to keep her moving. She stumbled and fell and Lavi always turned and waited for Link to help her back up. When she was on her feet again, he would walk on. They didn't speak as they walked; they just went where they were directed. Verinty looked scared, angry and she was glaring daggers at Leverier. Her feet were bare as usual and they plopped against the ground as she walked. Her dress was still bloodstained, the white bandages stained with red as well. She didn't look at anyone who passed them, though many looked at her and Lavi as they walked past. Lavi wondered where they were being led, but he knew it wasn't going to be pretty. His head kept telling him that something bad was going to happen soon. Something that he was going to regret…or at least feel bad about.

The walked, her feet hitting against the stone of the castle. Her shoulders were slumped in a defeted way, but her eyes were glaring at the floor. She was angry and Lavi didn't know what she would do because of this anger. He hoped she didn't do anything reckless. Maybe that was what his instinct was warning him about? She didn't have anything to write on though, so he doubted that she would be able to attack anyone in anyway. She needed to read what she had written to be able to attack with it. Lavi hoped she didn't attack anyone, he prayed for it. His eyes darted around, wishing there was some way to save both himself and her from whatever was about to happen.

Whatever was going to happen, he wasn't going to like it.

"Stop" ordered Leverier. He turned to the two of them. Verinty sent her dagger-like glares at him again, that only seemed to make him smile. Lavi thought him sick. He was sick to be like this, to smile at her anger, to know that she had to be in pain. Her bandages were red in some places, she probably had broken some wounds open again, moving around as she did. Lavi glanced at Verinty and she looked at him at the same moment. Her look was...fear. He could see the fear for the both of them in her eyes. He didn't want her to be afraid. That was wrong. She shouldn't be afraid. It wasn't right. He didn't want her to be afraid.

"Shall I unbind them?" asked Link.

"No" Leverier replied. He looked at the two teenagers again. "Let's go in and hear your story" he waved them into the room. It was a circular room that Lavi never saw before. There were two chairs apart from another few chairs. He saw the High Generals, the regular Generals, Komui and Bookman all sitting. There were quite a few Finders, positioned around the area. Leverier went to stand near everyone who was sitting and he sat in a chair in the front row. Link lead Lavi and Verinty to the other two chairs. He unbound them, stepped away but not far. He looked at Verinty mainly, like she was some monster that would run at first chance. She probably would run though.

Lavi looked at Bookman and Bookman looked back, but he had that look...the look that he was trying hard to record something, to store it into his mind and never forget it. Lavi realized that something big was about to go down. Something that the Bookmen would want to know. His eyes turned back to Verinty. He wanted to make sure she was okay.

"What is the meaning of this meeting?" someone asked. Lavi believed it to be a High General who asked. He didn't see them, he was looking at Verinty yet. She was standing, her fingers tangled in the fabric of her skirt. Her hands were shaking. She was clearly upset. Her mismatched eyes were locked on Leverier. Hate filled them. Lavi didn't like the look of Hate in her eyes. It seemed wrong...in her blue eye but when the hate filled her golden eye, he felt like it was something he had seen before. He just couldn't name when.

"One moment." He smiled at the crowd, turning in his chair to do so and then he turned back to Lavi and Verinty. He smiled at Verinty, as if tempting her to do anything. Her knuckles were white from squeezing the dress so hard in her fingers. Lavi was surprised that the fabric didn't rip. If it did, he was sure she wouldn't notice. Her eyes narrowed and she looked like she would like nothing more than to jump at Leverier and rip his throat out. Of course if she made a move to, Lavi would stop her. She couldn't kill the man, no matter how much she hated him. She couldn't kill him because of his position of power within the Black Order. Even Lavi knew that...but she might not.

"What do you want?" she asked, her voice soft and drawn in. It was deadly-soft, a threat lurked in that voice, a threat of violence and hate. Lavi almost shuddered to hear her speak in such a manner.

"I want you to take a seat" he said motioning to the chairs behind them. Lavi took a seat, deciding to play by the rules Verinty stayed standing. "Take a seat Verinty" Leverier was still being pleasant. Lavi wondered how long it would last.

"No" she growled threw her teeth.

Lavi stood, grabbing her wrist. "Veri, sit down." he said, softly to her. Her eyes dashed to him, a frown on her lips and then she looked at Leverier before sitting down. Lavi let go of her wrist and sat back down himself. Leverier was giving him an odd look. He gave a quick and bitter glare at the man. His eye then grazed over Verinty's many cuts and scratches he had help treat. He didn't know why this happened to her. Why her?

"So you can control her..." Leverier said, his eyes gazed at Verinty again, his voice had a note of surprise to it. Lavi wanted to snap at him, correct him, but he kept his mouth shut. She crossed her arms across her chest, looking like a stubborn child. He stood then and moved so that the small crowd could see him. Now Lavi and Verinty were at his back. "I have gathered you all here because there is something...strange with this girl. The Innocence tried to destroy her! It would not destroy a _human_" He said the word, as if Verinty was something other than human.

There were a few muttered agreements.

Lavi didn't like where this was going. Verinty wasn't just a human. She was like the people who had taken her, or at least she thought she was. His eyes glanced over to her's for a moment, to that golden eye that looked so much like theirs. She was probably one of them. Were they not humans? Would the Innocence hurt her because of that? Lavi's head swam. What would Leverier do if he found out that? Lavi's mind ran through some scenarios and he didn't like one of them. She was just a young woman, yeah maybe she wasn't completely human but still! Lavi was appalled and nothing had happened yet.

"Now she knows who she is and she is going to tell us" He turned to face the two in their chairs. "Aren't you?" he smiled at Verinty. Lavi her the fabric of her dress rip. He doubted she noticed. He was right. She just glared right at Leverier. Lavi looked at her and then touched her arm, trying to find a way to calm her. She looked at him and then she glanced down.

"No. I'm not going to tell you anything" she said, her voice was low, but strong. She clearly wasn't going to say a single thing.

"Now Verinty...That's no way to be" he said, using a sweeter version of his voice, trying to get the information that he wanted out of her. Her eyes hardened and she frowned, intensely. Lavi never saw her look so angry, but he could also see the fear in her eyes. She was scared of what would happen if Leverier found out about what she could do and who she suspected she was. She was afraid, but there was no way that she was going to back down. He could see that in her eyes too. She was going to protect herself in this. She wasn't going to speak, no matter what was done to her. Lavi's eyes glanced to the small audience though, Leverier couldn't do much to her while these people watched. If he so much as touched her, he knew that several in the crowd would object to it and Leverier would be chased out – or at least hopefully.

"You have a snake's tongue" she said, closing her eyes. "The type of voice that slithers in one ear and coils around a person's brain, trying to get them to do as you want...The only thing is I don't let that snake of yours wrap around my brain, I won't play the game your way. I won't tell you my story – you have no reason to know it."

Lavi couldn't help but smile a little at her words, and besides that, it was the most he had ever heard he say at one time other than when she was using her power. He held back a chuckle at the look on Leverier's face. He looked a little upset that she would dare tell him no a second time. Lavi knew she would tell him no as many times as he asked. She wasn't going to tell him anything and she was right, there was no real reason for him to know her story. She didn't even know most of it herself. What right did he have to the parts that she knew?

He didn't have any rights at all.

"What if I knew something about your mother that you didn't know?" Leverier's words made her eyes snap open and she looked at him. She looked at him, her eyes wary. She glanced at Lavi, as if he could tell her or not if Leverier was lying. "She was a nice woman...from a tiny village in England. She grew up with her Uncle and her Aunt because her parents were dead. Her closest friend lived with her grandmother and so she understood Rebecca Whispers better than the other children" He said and Verinty's look softened a little. He had given out information that connected with information they had known. Robert...Selena...They had died that day and Verinty had been the cause of it. Because she had been searching for information that they gave her. They had died to try and get information to her.

They hadn't even gotten that much, but Lavi knew Verinty still felt bad.

"You're lying" she finally said, her face hardening again. "_Anyone_ could find that bit of information out" A grim smile came on her face, as if she had him in a corner. He smiled a little too and Lavi knew he had more that he wanted to use against her. He wonder how Verinty would react. Would he fight against Leverier with her own comments or would she allow him to get her story out of her?

"I know more than that about your mother you know...That's just a little taste of what I know. If you listen to me...do as I say, I'll tell you more." he says, his smile widening a little. Lavi's expression became curious and then cautious, Leverier thought he was still in control. What made him think that he still had control of the situation?

Lavi's eyes glanced around. He had Link, who was loyal to him, so that was one way. What else did he have going for him? Well he supposed if Verinty did manage to use his power on him, the Generals would jump to protect the others in the room. Would Lavi protect Verinty though? Would he jump to protect her? Would he protect Verinty even if it meant keeping the generals away from her? _Could_ he protect her and the hardest question yet – _should he protect her_?

"I'm sure you know _plenty_ about my mother" Verinty's voice broke him from his thoughts and he blinked his good eye several times. He focused on her again. "But tell me, what do you know about my father?"

And Lavi smiled, because she had him there. Not that she knew much about her father, but she knew more than Leverier or anyone in this room, save himself maybe. She knew she got her power from her father, her golden eye from him and that people that were like her father were out to get her, to capture her to use her power for...something. He wasn't quite sure what they wanted her for and she hadn't told him. She had seemed scared though. What was she scared of?

Leverier's smile faltered and a few people behind him muttered in low voices about the mystery her father presented. Verinty sat there and though she could have smiled smugly she sat there with a rather straight expression. He look was very border-lined annoyed and her mismatched eyes didn't falter from Leverier's face, almost as if she could make him back down with her angry stares alone. Lavi knew that would never happen. Leverier was a very stubborn man and he wouldn't back down because she was staring at him like she was.

His smile came back a moment later and Lavi knew another plot had popped into his head. Lavi frowned, but he couldn't speak out. He was a Bookman and since Bookman was in the crowd, he knew that this was something that needed to be recorded. He couldn't interfere with it, he had no choice but to just watch in his seat, gauging their faces and wondering who was going to win.

"You see? She's keeping secrets!" He said, turning back to the crowd and Lavi mentally cursed. Of course he would make it look that way. "She knows something about the secret of her father and she has told none of us. Is it because he isn't human?" He turned back to her, eyes gloating.

"You father was a goat" She snapped the insult out like it was a true fact. Lavi saw the anger flash across Leverier's face for a moment replaced by the calm within seconds. She had hit him with that one, insulting him and probably pissing him off. She didn't so much as flinch though, her fingers still tangled in her torn dress and her eyes still fixed on Leverier. She didn't seem to want to back down either.

"Well fine then...It's clear you won't tell us anything at all" She relaxed a little bit, sighing out a relieved breath. She was starting to relax but something told Lavi that Leverier wasn't done quite yet. The man turned to him and smiled. "Alright, Bookman it is your turn. You've known her the whole time she's been here, so tell us her story"

Verinty's head turned to look at him, her mouth into a deep frown. She just looked at him, as if she wanted him to refuse. He should, he knew he should but he was a Bookman and it was his job to record and when the time came, to tell others what he had recorded. He looked at Verinty, there was fear in her eyes yet and then back at Leverier. His eyes glanced to Bookman who nodded, clearly promoting him to tell the story.

He still hesitated. "Lavi" Leverier's voice drew him to look back at the man. "Tell her story to us" Lavi swallowed hard, torn on something he shouldn't have been torn on.

"Lavi" her voice was soft and begging. "Please"

"Lavi, isn't your duty as the next Bookman to tell?" asked Leverier pacing in front of him. He was right, Lavi had to tell, it was part of his job as the next Bookman. It was his job to tell them her story, share it with the people here. They asked him to and Bookman had nodded, allowing him to. He knew he should. He had to tell, no matter how much Verinty begged. He stood, ready to tell.

Verinty suddenly grabbed his hand, her forehead pressed against the back of his hand. "Please!" her voice was desperate. "I trust you Lavi...I trust you." Her words made it harder, they shouldn't have but he did his best to ignore her words and do what he had to. He pulled his hand away from her and he knew was glaring into his back.

"Wh-" he started but he felt Verinty's fingers in his shirt, tugging back.

"If you do this I'll never trust you again!" her voice screamed. He half turned to look at her, eye wide with shock. "I'll hate you Lavi!" She snapped. Two finders came forward and pulled her off Lavi and held her a few feet away. She didn't struggle, but she glared at Lavi. He felt her eyes in his back, but he didn't turn to look at her, instead he turned to look at the small crowd.

He had to do his job.

He didn't want to hurt Verinty though.

He closed his eye and shut down a part of his mind, allowing himself to be able to do his job as a Bookman, for he was a Bookman before everything else. He had to do this and if Verinty didn't understand, then so be it. He would have to give up on one or the other someday, and it was better to give up now, before he had a chance to answer Lenalee's question. He thought of hold Verinty in his arms, of comforting her or even staying by her at night. He didn't want to admit it but those were memories he treasured. He would continue to treasure them, but he could not be attached to Verinty. It just wouldn't work. It was better to say goodbye now...At least that was what he told himself.

"When we met, Verinty didn't talk and the only thing strange other than that about her were her mismatched eyes. I didn't know what to think of her, but I was curious. She struck a deal with me that I help her find out about her father..." The crowd listened intently, hanging on his every word.

He told them everything, every conversation, every single thing that happened up until the point where he met Road and got his first look at her power. At that point, he began to tell them how things changed between the two of them. He went on to tell them about everything else. Every time he revealed one of her secrets she gave an anguished cry. At one point she begged him to stop talking, to please shut up, to please not say another word. He ignored her cries though, but mentally flinched every time her heard one of them. He couldn't stop though, he had to tell her story, she wanted him to or not.

"Her power is frightening and she had not control when she first used it. She used it to save our lives once though. We went to this abandoned town..."

On and on he talked. He wasn't sure for how long he would be talking, but talking a lot came with his job and this was good practice. Maybe he'd make a good Bookman after all, but it wasn't like he really doubted himself. He knew he would. He had been trained to become a Bookman since he was young and now he was letting his colors show. He thought his tone got emotionless sometimes, but he could see his message was still getting across to the small crowd. He told the story truthfully and without his own opinion, adding everything he had observed over the past months. He gave them detail after detail, making sure that they understood everything, that they weren't going to question anything when he was done speaking. That was how a true Bookman should speak. At one point, Verinty almost broke free from both the Finders.

"I hate you!" she screamed and he turned to look at her, tears ran down her cheeks. "I hate you! You're nothing more than a dirty, lying _Bookman!_" she screamed at him and the words stung. He was careful not to let that show. He couldn't let anyone see how she could effect him, because she shouldn't have been able affect him. He should have been able to shrug off her remark like it was nothing.

But he couldn't.

He kept going with the story, watching their reactions. Some now glanced over at Verinty with what looked to be fear in their eyes, while others muttered lowly to each other. They all appeared to be shocked that a young girl like herself could have such frightening powers and not be an Exorcist. He wanted to tell them that she wasn't bad, that she was good and that she meant no harm. He wanted to tell them that, but he knew he couldn't. That was his opinion of her and Bookmen were not supposed to have opinions of anyone. They were supposed to observe but never be a part of the world. He wasn't supposed to be attached as he was to her. It was wrong, it was bad and but he wouldn't take back that bound if he could. Well...maybe now he would. He hated how it hurt to hear her sobbing behind him.

Finally he finished his story and stood silent. Everyone stared at him. The only sound in the room was Verinty's sobbing and it took a lot of Lavi to not turn to comfort her like he had in the past. He couldn't do that.

"Well...her powers are indeed interesting...but she is dangerous. I believe we should lock her up" said one High General. A few people nodded.

"She's just a child!" exclaimed Komui.

"I agree with Komui" General Cloud said, her eyes looking back at the sobbing, bloodstained girl. There was pity in her violet eyes.

"She is still dangerous. We should keep her away...until we know if she could be used" The Generals nodded with each other and Lavi knew that Komui couldn't argue with them.

"No!" yelled Verinty. "No! No! No! No!" She suddenly threw her arms forward and with strength she shouldn't have, she tossed the Finders holding her several feet away. Lavi turned and looked at her.

"Veri-" he started, wanting to calm her, tell her everything would be alright. She opened her mouth and screamed. Wordlessly. Painfully. Her scream wasn't normal. It rang, stunning Lavi, forcing him to cover his ears and bringing him to his knees. He was pretty sure that it wasn't damaging his ears permanently, for he was young, but some of the older members might have a problem. Everyone in the room was on their knees, stunned and unable to move because of her scream. _Is this part of her power?_ He thought, wondering. It might be. It seemed to simple for her to just be able to read things to life. He wanted to speak, to calm her but he couldn't do anything but cringe on the ground, his brain scrambling to keep his thoughts together now.

Finally the scream stopped and Lavi was aware that several people collapsed. Lavi's brain was still buzzing, still trying to pick up a thought that made sense. He wanted to get up, he knew that, but he didn't know how to make his body do that so he stayed kneeled where he was. He heard footsteps, painfully dull after the scream. He felt someones fingers curl around the collar of his shirt and pick him straight up. He looked up in surprise to see Verinty, frowning, looking beyond angry.

"You be...betrayed me" her voice was a hosrse whisper, yet he somehow heard it.

"I didn't mean to" he said, or at least he hoped he had said it. She shook her head, so her figured his message got across.

"I want to...to...ki...kill you" she was having trouble speaking, her voice must have been damaged by her scream and that gave Lavi a little relief. She wouldn't be able to scream like that again at least.

"No...No you don't" He said and he hoped his words were true, hoped she would not kill him. He didn't want to die by her hand. He didn't want her to hate him though.

"I ha...hate you...Lavi" she went on in her hoarse whisper. He suddenly felt her knee connect with his stomach, painfully hard. It stunned him more and took the breath out of him. "But...I...I won't kill...you" He could barely process her words now. He was suddenly in the air and his back hit the wall, right by the door. He curled into a ball, the pain making him apeal to the fetal position. He looked up, barely able to see Verinty walking towards the door in her bloodstained, ripped dress.

"V...V...Veri" he stuttered her name, hoping she would stop. She did to look down at him, her eyes only showing loathing. He wished he could tell her that he was sorry. He couldn't though. He lowered his head again, the pain making his body throb.

"Goodbye...Lavi..." She whispered before she walked out the door. He heard it creak open slowly. He heard her footsteps walk away until the door slammed shut behind her and he could no longer hear her walking away from him. The sound of the door was so final. He knew he deserved it though, he had betrayed her.

And now he'd never see her again.

* * *

Haha, not much to say to this one except, please leave reviews. And I still want to know your guesses to who Verinty's father is. I will be putting out more clues soon. I'm pretty sure soon you'll all be able to guess it. So review and tell me what you thought


	13. By Fate

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
By Fate**

"Lavi"

A pause and an impatient sigh.

"Lavi!"

There was another sigh and then the boy shook his head before placing his hands on Lavi's shoulder and giving him a good shake.

"Lavi! We're at our stop!"

The words finally woke Lavi from lala land. He looked at his companion for this mission. He had met him just a short while ago. He was new to the Order. He had been hurt along with Lenalee when the two of them had been on a mission together and then Komui had allowed them to rest. Now that they were both better, they were both out on missions. The new white-haired, silver-blue-eyed boy that sat next to him was named Allen Walker. Allen was nice, naive, but nice. Lavi supposed it was Allen's young age that made him that way. Still with Allen's words finally reaching his ears, Lavi stood and followed the younger boy off the train and to their stop.

"Geeze Lavi, at every spare chance you go off into a daydream...What are you thinking so hard about?" He asked. Allen didn't sound annoyed, but he did sound concerned. Lavi looked at the younger boy for a moment and then looked away. Lavi was eighteen now – eighteen just like she'd be. He wondered if she had changed any or if she was the same girl he knew. He wondered if she smiled in the same way, the sarcasm always touching her eyes when she smiled as if she didn't mean the smile – as if she was only smiling because she felt she had to. He wondered if her voice was the same or if she found out who her father was. He wondered about her and worried about her though he knew he shouldn't. When he wasn't around Bookman – would constantly snap him out of these thoughts – he thought about her more.

"Oh...well I was just thinking...about something" He knew that was rather vague but he didn't like to talk about Verinty. Just like the last time she disappeared really. Lenalee tried to get him to talk about it, her brother had informed her what had happened at the meeting, but he refused to. When ever she brought it up, he usually walked away from her. She had stopped trying to bring it up. He was happy that she did. He didn't think he could stand trying to ignore the topic of Verinty anymore.

"Obviously" Allen's voice was still kind as they walked towards town. Their walk wasn't a hastened one, it was one that was calm but had a purpose. Allen had heard of Verinty, but not much. He had heard that she was a strange girl with mismatched eyes but that was the most he had heard. Then Allen looked over at him, his eyes concerned. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Lavi shook his head, his throat constricting in that way that it did when he thought too much of Verinty. It was a type of choking feeling. He felt like he was choking on the words he had said.

"Are you sure? Lavi...Lenalee is worried about you" Lavi looked at the younger boy, s little shock in his green eye. He had had known that, but he didn't know that she told Allen. He looked away, mouth setting in a slightly annoyed way. He did not like that she had told him anything.

"It's nothing" he replied. The chocking sensation wasn't going away but he could hope that it would sometime soon. Verinty...He just hoped she was happy and safe no matter where she was. He cared about her. He knew he shouldn't but it was too late because he did. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts of her. "Alright, so do we have an idea where the Innocence is?" asked Lavi. He didn't go to the mission briefing. He had been sent to join Allen from the field. Now he was here, he didn't get briefed on the train because he had been either resting or thinking.

"According to the papers Komui gave me, there is a little boy who lives in the forest and this little boy can summon a wolf to do his bidding. I don't know if it's Innocence, but a little boy summoning a wolf from no where isn't normal. He should be living with someone, not by himself in the woods – wolf or no wolf" Allen frowned again and then glanced at Lavi. "So we don't need to be in town, but we should get supplies. Food and such" He said. Their finder followed behind them. He was a young twenty-one year old man who's wife had been killed by an Akuma last year. Lavi had been paired with him before.

"I can carry it Master Walker" the Finder inputted. Lavi remembered his name was David.

"Ah...are you sure? Do you have room?" Asked Allen

"I have plenty of room" The Finder replied, smiling pleasantly. Lavi reminded himself to smile to as they walked. It didn't take long to reach the village and it took even less time to buy supplies for their trip into the forest. They had a few people warn them about going into the forest. But Allen and Lavi brushed them off. They had been in danger before. They were Exorcists after all. They were buying fruit from a woman who was probably in her early thirties. She had long black hair tied up in a careful bun and pale skin.

"You are going into the forest aren't you?" she asked, holding their money and their fruit in her hands so they could not walk away. Allen and Lavi looked at each other and nodded. She frowned lightly. "You're going to look for the boy aren't you?"

"Do you know something about him?" asked Lavi, curiosity in his voice.

"He is the son of my dearly departed sister. The man who fathered him was killed a few days after their wedding day. She was scared to raise him alone but she did it anyway. When he was five she was killed by a beast from the woods." The woman sighed, her eyes looking down. "She heard something at night and went to look outside, as they lived near the edge of the village, near the forest. She went outside to see and she was mauled to death. We found her in the morning. She had a locket clutched in her fingers when we found her."

"A locket?" Now Allen spoke. He glanced at Lavi.

"It was something that her late husband gave to her on their wedding day" the woman explained. "He was alone, but given to me to care for and I allowed him to keep the locket. He showed nothing odd at first but within a month I noticed him spending more time outside...mostly at night. I banned him from him from going outdoors at night. A week later he was gone and we began seeing him and a large light-colored wolf outside the village... We can't get him to come home" She was silent again, her eyes focused on the fruit and the money. She got them their change in silence and handed them their change and their fruit. "Please...if you are truly the Exorcists that some talk about...please save him..."

"What's his name?" asked David. "Maybe if we know his name he'll be more willing to come to us if we know his name." Lavi thought that David had a good point. Maybe he was going to be a good help to everyone there. Not all the Finders liked to talk or ask questions. David was obviously different.

"His name is Marcus." the woman answered. She looked down. "Please...please save Marcus." She looked desperate

"We'll try" Allen replied with a cheerful smile. Then with that, David packed their food away away and then they turned and walked towards the forest. On the way there, they passed an abandoned house not far from the path to the woods. As they passed, Lavi stopped. He thought he saw a blonde woman in the window. Allen stopped too and then David.

"What is it Master Lavi?" asked David.

"I thought I saw a blonde woman..." He said. "I must have been seeing things" Then he started walking again. Maybe it was his blind spot – his eye patch – that was making him see things. He shrugged off the thought and looked ahead towards the woods, knowing that it could be very dangerous. Who knew what was in the forest. The trees leaned over the path, as if to coat it in the darkness of their shade all the time. The trunks were thick, the trees in full bloom of leaves and some had petals still on them. A layer of leaves coated the ground, ferns popping between the clusters of leaves and needles. It would be peaceful but it felt like something was lurking within the trees that could be either friendly or a beast of some sort.

"Well do you think we'll be able to find him?" asked Allen as they walked.

"Hopefully we will" he replied. "And hopefully we don't run into any Noah" His face had a frown upon it. He was frowning at the thought of meeting any Noah. He had met a Noah named Road and she had attacked him and Lenalee.

"I doubt we will. Probably just a few Akuma" Thinking about Lenalee made him think of Verinty and he frowned himself. He banished her from his thoughts, that last look on her face, the look on her face when she told him she hated him and the pang in his heart when he remembered that she hated him now. A Bookman had no need for a Heart, yet they had them anyway. He was a person and thus he had a heart anyway. He didn't have to like that he had a heart, but it wasn't like it was something he could help. Having a heart was just part of being a person. He couldn't change that and actually he didn't want to. If he didn't have a heart, he never would have cared to help Verinty.

"I hope you're right" Allen agreed lightly. David nodded his head as well, but Lavi doubted that the Finder had ever come in contact with any Noah and he also doubted that the man even knew what Noah were. He didn't comment though, there was no need to share these thoughts. Instead he focused his eyes on the road ahead of them.

They had been walking for a long while, Lavi's feet ached but he did not complain and then the Finder stopped. He looked back at them man who seemed to hear something behind him. He shrugged and then started walking again, but now Lavi was alerted. He looked around himself. He saw nothing, heard nothing but he felt like he was being watched. He moved slower now and he glanced at the sky, seeing that the sun was setting somewhat. It was lowering in the sky and they were fairly deep into the forest. At least a good few hours walk in. They had not seen this boy or the wolf he supposedly had with him. Lavi was getting slightly annoyed and was starting to think that everyone was actually lying about this Marcus kid. Maybe he left with someone else and everyone was just seeing things.

"We should stop for the night" suggested Allen. "We've been walking a long while" He looked up at the sky now too, noticing how close it was to setting. "We should also make a fire" He seemed wary of the forest around him, but Lavi couldn't blame him. Lavi moved towards the forest.

"I'll get some wood. David, you have some stuff to start a fire right?" He asked, stopping to look at the finder.

"Yes, of course. I also have some sleeping bags packed away. I'll get the camp set up" He pulled his bag off his back and knelt to start unpacking thing. Lavi didn't watch, more concerned on getting the wood to start the fire.

"Here, I'll help" he heard Allen say. He took three steps into the forest and he heard muttering. He looked around and then he saw a knife flying right at his face. He stood, shocked, only thinking that he was about to die when suddenly he heard a voice shout out something. Suddenly a huge white mass was in front of him. There was a grunt and then a small child came running from the forest. He was bare foot, his pants and shirt old and torn. The wolf wasn't bleeding, but the knife was stuck in its shoulder.

"Sasha!" the boy ordered, his voice strong for his young age. He pointed in the direction that the knife had come from. The wolf bound forward at a blinding speed. The boy went to run after the wolf, but Lavi had regained his senses enough to grab him by the back of his worn shirt and tug him towards himself. The boy struggled. "Let me go!" he cried out. The wolf was already gone though.

"Are you Marcus?" asked Lavi.

"Sasha! Help!" the boy cried, still struggling. Suddenly the wolf was back. Instead of coming from the front, it came from the left. Startled, Lavi released the boy and fell back. The wolf's blue eyes glared at Lavi, it's teeth shown because it's lip curved back showing the sharp white fangs. It moved to the boy, took his shirt in its teeth, picking him up like a pup. The boy reached back to stroke the wolf's snout before the wolf ran off, carrying the boy away.

"Lavi!" he heard Allen cry. Lavi turned to look at the younger boy. "Are you alright?" he asked.

"Someone tossed a knife at me and the boy – probably Marcus – saved me" he told Allen, thinking back on the attack. He didn't know if it was an Akuma or one of the Noah.

"Where is the knife?" asked Allen

"The wolf took the hit, but it didn't bleed" Which Lavi thought was strange. He didn't know what to make of that. What was there to make of that? "Well, I'll get the wood" Allen came with him though. They gathered it without incident and then went back to came where they made a fairly large fire and sat around it.. Lavi didn't feel at ease with his back to the woods, but he forced himself to relax a little.

"Lavi" Allen said. David was sleeping a little, he would be keeping watch later. Lavi was going to go to sleep soon so that he could keep watch in a little bit after Allen. Lavi looked at the younger man though, a questioning look on his face. "Lenalee told me why she was worried about you too"

"What...did she tell you?" asked Lavi.

"She said something about a girl that you had become friends with..." Allen looked up at Lavi. "Do you ever talk about her?"

"No...Generally I don't" Lavi answered.

"Why not?"

"Because...I don't like to think about her very much"

"Why though?"

"Why don't I tell you about her and then maybe you'll understand" Lavi suggested and so he talked about Verinty. He told Allen her name, her nickname that he had made for her and everything he could recall about her – which of course was everything. He excluded some parts this time, but he even told Allen about her power. "She was a nice girl...her power was...enjoyable to watch. It always amazed me, every time she used it"

Allen looked at him a long moment. It was a thoughtful type of look that made Lavi uncomfortable.

"What?"

"The way you talk about her...it sounds like you loved her"

Lavi felt his face turn red when Allen said that. He couldn't help it, it was just an automatic reaction. He couldn't help but blush, couldn't help but feel like Allen was nearly teasing him, though Lavi knew better. He knew that Allen meant the words and Lavi didn't like the words. He knew that he shouldn't let them affect him at all though, so he forced the blush down and laughed at Allen's words.

"Really? Well, I didn't. She was just a friend" he replied.

"...If you say so Lavi. What happened to her?" The question struck Lavi like the blade would have. If the blade had made contact, it might not have hurt this bad.

"She...left the Black Order last year..." He felt the choking sensation come back. At the time, he could not have felt back. Now he felt terrible for betraying her. He remembered the look in her eyes when she walked away. He remembered her words.

"_I hate you Lavi"_ Her words had been broken that day, but he had heard them clearly. She walked away from him, her stare resentful. He closed his eyes for a moment, not wanting to think about it. He opened them again and stared into the fire.

"Have you heard from her since?" Asked Allen, completely innocent.

"No"

His word hung in the air, heavy and pressing. Allen didn't speak and Lavi stared into the fire, wishing he could see Verinty again so he could apologize. He wanted to tell her how very sorry he was. He wanted to tell her that he still cared and not a day had gone by that he didn't regret what he had said. He regret betraying her. He wished he hadn't and instead he had.

"I need some sleep." then Lavi laid down and pretended to go to sleep. His mind was racing though and he knew that sleep would not come easily to him. He would be thinking of everything he was trying to avoid thinking about tonight before he went to sleep.

The next morning they packed up, made sure the fire was out and headed onward. They had to find where Marcus and the wolf were staying. There had to be some signs, so they would head a few hours deeper into the forest. Then they would probably make a base camp and search the area for the boy and his wolf. They just had to get to the point where they could create camp when Lavi heard the muttering again. He turned, expecting the knife to come from behind but this time it was not a knife. It was a sword and there was a person there.

It was like it was the first time he ever saw her, even as his blood splattered on her face. He started to fall, the sword cutting into his shoulder in a non-fatal way. It hurt though, but he barely noticed it. He could only notice her. She looked like she had before, her mismatched eyes, narrowed and angry, but alert. Her hair was long, braided and she was wearing a dress that was to her knees and in its usual dancer's style. Her feet were bare and her tan was deep and healthy.

"Veri..." He gasped and then he fell.

"Lavi!" he heard Allen cry out his name. Lavi clamped his hand over his shoulder. It wasn't bleeding too badly, but he was bleeding. Her sword was at her side now and her attention turned to Allen. Her eyes narrowed, angry-annoyed.

"Verinty" He reached for her dress with his good arm, his bad arm going numb because of pain. He touched the light-colored fabric and the red stained it. "Verinty" She looked at him again and before he could react, she kicked him. It hit him under the chin and though her foot was bare, it hurt. He sprawled on the ground. He saw David come to his side and put something on his bleeding shoulder. He could hear Verinty and Allen fighting and he knew he had to help Allen. He pushed himself up, hearing David tell him not to, protest and try to push him down. Instead Lavi got up and grabbed his handle. Blood made the handle slippery but he did the best he could with what he had. He had it grow a little bigger and then he hurried towards Verinty.

Allen was blocking her sword with his Innocence Arm. She was strong though, but her hair was coming out of blade a little, making her look like she had to actually fight Allen somewhat. He swung his hammer and she turned to see it coming, hearing it move through the air and then he hit her on the side of the head. It wasn't really hard, but she froze for a moment before collapsing onto the ground. She wasn't bleeding, but he had knocked her out. She lay there and the sword fell to the ground near her.

"Ti...Tie her up before she wakes up" Lavi stuttered, putting his hammer away and putting pressure back onto his wound. Allen gave him a worried look but he managed to get some rope from David and then he tied her up. He made sure to tie her up tight and David treated Lavi's wound. It wasn't bad as it looked, there was just a lot of blood, but it was hard to move his arm.

"Who is she?" asked Allen, looking over at Lavi when everything was done. They made camp where they were on account of Lavi being hurt.

"That's...that's Verinty" Lavi said, looking at her. She was propped up against a tree near the edge of the camp. He walked over by her and knelt down to look at her face. He frowned at her for a moment. He wondered when she would wake up and then suddenly her foot connected with his chin again. He hadn't expected her to wake up so soon. He fell into the dirt again and he rubbed his chin. "Ow" He groaned. "I think I might have at least deserved that"

"Master Lavi!" cried David and he hurried over to Lavi. "Her feet should be restrained as well" He said.

"I dare you to try" He hissed, struggling. She was strong, but didn't seem to be able to break her bonds. She closed her eyes and seemed to be concentrating but the opened her eyes and frowned. Then she went back to struggling. She only feel to her side and was unable to right herself. Lavi carefully avoided her feet and pushed her back up to a sitting position. "Don't fucking touch me" she snapped at him.

He moved his hands back, understanding. He knew she was still mad. There was venom in her eyes. She hated him. She wanted him to die or at least to get far, far away from him. He never thought he would see her again. He thought she was gone again. He couldn't stop from approaching her again and touching her leg, a light touch, the bare skin smooth under his fingers. She tensed and she bent her knee, making him recall his hand and move away from her.

He looked at her and she glared at him then he looked at Allen. "Well, Allen, this is Verinty" he said motioning to her. Allen looked at her.

"She doesn't seem like the girl you described" he said, seeming wary.

"I'm not" she snapped at him. "After Lavi _betrayed_ me I changed. I knew that it was better if I did so no one would ever hurt me like he did again" Her voice was angry, her eyes hurt and her body tense. Lavi looked at her and there were so _many_ things he wanted to say to her, so many things he wanted to tell her, so many things he wanted to ask her – are you alright? Where have you been staying? Did you find out who your father was? - but none of them could make it past the lump in his throat. Instead, her reverted to his Bookman self.

"Why are you here?"

"Are you a moron?" she growled at him and she finally stopped struggling and leaned against the tree. "I'm looking for that stupid kid and his wolf. I saw you were here and figured I'd kill you like I said I would" She didn't take her eyes off of Lavi as she said this, she looked into his eye. He knew she meant what she was saying.

"You were going to kill me?"

"That was the plan." her voice was dry now and she closed her mismatched eyes.

"You don't really want to kill me or I would be dead" He told her – which was true. She opened her eyes and somehow she lurched onto her knees and up into a standing position so they were eye to eye, her feet nearly standing on his boots. He placed his hands on her shoulders to hold her up. He heard David and Allen exclaim in alarm but Lavi wasn't alarmed. She had nothing to hurt him with. "You're working with _them_ now aren't you?"

She glared into his good eye. "Yes. They're my family. I belong with them"

"Your mother was an Exorcist and your father was a Noah then?"

"Yes" she replied. "I don't know which one though and no one is talking if they know"

"Do you at least have it narrowed down?"

This banter reminded Lavi of the old days...except he was talking in a nearly emotionless voice, she was glaring at him, standing on his toes, tied up and he was holding her shoulders to keep her upright. It was nearly like the old days. If she had been smiling and leaning against his shoulder and he smiling as well, looking at the worn book in her lap. Which reminded him, where was her book? Before she could answer his last question, he gave her a new one.

"Where is your book?" She knew what he was talking about for she smiled, it was a shadow of the smile she used to give him. He missed her.

"Why should I tell you?" her voice was mock of how she used to talk to them when they were in her room and about to practice her power. He missed her.

"Because I asked you where it was" and now she laughed, a bitter and uncaring laugh. She leaned her head against his shoulder and he could feel her breath against his neck but he didn't push her away, if anything he wanted to hug her closer and tell her that he missed her.

"Lavi, for a Bookman, you're such a fool" she said, her voice was low. She could not push herself away from him at the moment so he hugged her closer, doing it on impulse, on the need to hug her again. She tensed and went stiff in his arms. She didn't move until he pushed her away again and helped her to sit down by the tree. "I could have killed you there" she warned him.

"I already told you that you didn't want to kill me" his tone was devoid of emotion though and thus more effective on her – for he could see it in her eyes, how they widened ever so slightly and her lips parted a tiny bit. Then he turned and walked to the other side of the camp and sat down by the fire. Allen gave him a meaningful glance and Lavi ignored it. He retreated into his own mind. He needed some time to think everything out. Verinty had come back, but the subject of fate, but...things had changed.

And he missed her – the old her.

* * *

New chapter~! Not my best I think...But I tried! Um...roughly 3-5 more chapters in this story. I will be closing it up soon. Good news, I'm writing a prequel to the story that stars Verinty's mother~ So Verinty's past **will** be told~ Just not in the way you would be expecting it. The prequel will be short, only three or four chapters max. It'll come out after this story is over, so not to reveal anything that would give this ending away.

As always, leave me some wonderful reviews~


	14. Freedom

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Freedom**

"Verinty" Lavi said, looking at her. She looked away from him, closing her eyes and pressing her lips together. "Verinty, you need to eat" Lavi's voice annoyed, nearly angry. He was tense and getting tired of the woods. They couldn't move though, because every time they tried to move Verinty, she threatened to scream – her loud, killer scream. She always sucked in a deep breath and got ready to scream. They tried to gag her but she struggled so fiercely they were afraid of her tearing her bonds. They had to stay where they were. It had already been three days. Three days and the boy had not shown up again yet. Sometimes Lavi felt eyes on him from the woods. Allen assured him that the eyes were not eyes of an Akuma. Lavi believed him.

"What are we going to do if she doesn't eat?"asked Allen, his eyes darting to Lavi.

"I don't know" Lavi replied. She wouldn't eat or drink anything. Lavi never caught her sleeping, so she must have slept when no one was watching her. How did she know to wake up though? Why was she being so frustrating. She had spoken the first day, but now she no longer spoke. She was completely silent. She wouldn't answer a question, she wouldn't even look at him. She would glare at Allen and David, but she would act like he was a plague that she could catch just by looking at him. It depressed him on a level.

This was Verinty. _Verinty_. He cared so much for her, he wanted to help her. At first it was because he was curious. He was just curious about her, who she was and things like that. Then he became wrapped up in her secrets. He became entombed in her world. He began to care about her, he wanted to care about her and then she was ripped away from him. He was a Bookman though, what did she expect? He had a job to do. What did she expect from him? What had she ever expected from him?

He touched her cheek, one finger on her warm skin. Her eyes didn't open, she didn't look towards him. Her body didn't tense. She acted like she was not being touched. "Veri..."

He stood then. He took some food and ate himself. He was hungry. He would try again; try to get her to eat later. The thing was though; they had been here a long three days. Three days…He wanted to leave already. Moving Verinty wasn't working and they were running low of supplies. One of them would have to head back to town soon to get more – which would be a two day hike by itself…

He sighed and looked into the fire. Ash surrounded the burning flame. They had a pile of wood leaning against one tree. Allen and David had gone to gather it. Lavi didn't want to leave Verinty. Allen worried, Lavi knew that. Allen was worried about what this meant for Lavi. He didn't talk about it but Lavi could tell. Lavi could read people pretty well. Well, at least he thought he could but he was starting to doubt himself here and there now.

But he knew he shouldn't doubt himself. He was a Bookman for crying out loud! He should be proud of who he was – he was proud! He didn't need to be feeling bad because he hurt one person because of his job. It wasn't his fault she had trusted him. That...That was on her. Not on him.

Still there was their matter of food and their nearly lack there of. Someone had to go get more. Someone _had_ to and they hadn't discussed that yet. Lavi felt like the others didn't want to separate. It might be a bad idea, but what else was there to do?

"We need more supplies" he said. Allen and David looked up at him but neither looked even remotely surprised. "One of us needs to go into town. We're not going to last much longer unless someone goes to get the supplies." he knew his words were true and so did they.

"I'll go" said David. "It's evening now, but if I leave now, I might get some distance in before I have to make camp." He started to get his things around, while leaving enough food for Allen and Lavi while he was gone but Allen stood up.

"Someone else should go – an Exorcist." he looked worried. "If an Akuma attacked you, you'd be defenseless." Allen did have a point. Her turned to Lavi then. "But, that would only leave one of us here with her" His hand motioned to Verinty, who still had her eyes closed and appeared to be sleeping.

"She's tied up pretty tight" Lavi told Allen. "If she could escape, she would have by now" He shrugged, but his shoulder hurt. The one she cut with that sword. He looked at her and she sighed. So maybe she was sleeping. He turned his eyes back to Allen. "I wouldn't be able to help carry anything back because of my bad arm" he looked at his shoulder. "So, Allen you better go. I'll be fine"

Allen hesitated and looked at David. "Alright. We'll hurry so we can be back in three days" It only took them a couple of minutes to get ready and they were off. Allen gave Lavi a worried look, but Lavi smiled lightly at him. Allen still looked worried but there was nothing Lavi could do about that. He watched them until he couldn't anymore and then he threw another log onto the fire. Sparks jetted up, flaring everywhere, only to float back down and be engulfed by flames or to land on the ground to become gray ash.

His eyes wandered up to Verinty and where she lay. She appeared to be sleeping, but she could be awake for all he knew. He didn't know and maybe that was indeed a scary thing. Instead thought of other things. He thought of how behind on his studies to become a Bookman he was getting right now. The Old Panda was still at home, probably reading things and remembering them while he was stuck out in the woods with Verinty. He looked at her again. He remembered her laughing and talking. He remembered her smile and his talk with Lenalee. Since no one was around, he didn't bother to hide the flash of red that came across his cheeks. There was no one to hide it from and the evening was getting dimmer. Even if anyone was watching him, they wouldn't see the red on his cheeks.

It wasn't like it mattered anyway. Verinty hated him now and she'd never trust him again.

After a while Lavi turned in and laid down so he could get some sleep before he'd check on Verinty again. She was asleep, but he didn't know when she would wake up. He'd have to try and get her to eat again. She hadn't eaten in the days they had been there. Three days...tomorrow four. He would find a way to get her to eat, but for now he would lay down and get some much-needed sleep. He closed his eyes and he fell asleep quickly.

"_Lavi! Wake up you lazy boy!" _

_Her smile, teeth white against pale lips._

"_Our friends are waiting for us"_

_Her hand held out for him, tan skin showing from the sleeves of her shirt._

"_You don't want to keep them waiting do you?"_

_Her laugh, ringing like a familiar lullaby._

"_Come on, they're waiting"_

_His hand in her's. Her hand was warm, warm and familiar._

"_...they're waiting..."_

_He looked at her. Her mismatched eyes were glowing. Behind her golden eyes glowed, unfriendly, uncaring, deadly._

"_What's a matter Lavi?"_

_He took a step back. The threat was clear. He wasn't going to let this happen to him though._

"_...This will hurt you more than it will hurt me..."_

_The eyes move closer, she moves closer, bloody smiles and sharp teeth._

"_It always hurts more in the end doesn't it...?"_

_Shock, pain and then..._

"_Goodbye Lavi..."_

_AND THEN!_

Lavi sat up.

He looked around to see Verinty awake and alert. Actually she looked bored. She wasn't looking at him, but staring straight ahead. He just stared at her. She didn't look at him or warn him to stop staring or anything. She just sat there as if she was made of stone.

He got up and got ready for the day, washing his face with the little water he had. The dream he had – the nightmare – had shaken him up a bit. He looked at Verinty again and her eyelids drooped a bit, as if she hadn't gotten enough sleep. Actually, looking at her, it didn't look like she did. She still looked tired as all hell and he hoped she was alright. After a long moment he walked over by her. She didn't react at all.

"You're pretty good at hiding your emotions" he said, sitting crossed-legged in front of her. Her looked at her and she still didn't react, it was as if he didn't exist to her anymore. "I think...if you were different, you might have made a good Bookman...err...Bookwoman or something close at least. Well...maybe...It depends really. There's a lot that goes into becoming a Bookman. I don't even know all of it myself." He grinned. For a minute he almost expected her to reply. Instead she yawned as if he were boring to her. He floundered for something else to say.

"That sword you had the other day was beautiful...Even if you did use it to hurt me" Of course he got a look at the sword, a perfect look. He remembered it perfectly as if he had gotten hours to study it instead of seconds. "My shoulder still hurts – I hope they bring medicine for it back with them..." He trailed off again, going silent for a while. In fact he didn't talk again for several minutes.

"I told Allen about you" He then said, the words almost sounding random after the silence. Maybe they did to her. "Allen wanted to meet you but I never thought he would be able to...well he probably won't be able to meet the you I know...since you hate me and all...He said strange things though after I told him about you though...Really strange things. Things like Lenalee had said last year to me...Oh did she talk to you too?"

Then he got a reaction out of her. She ducked her head down quickly, hair falling into her face, but he saw the red on her cheeks anyway. It made him happy that she had finally reacted to him. Maybe he could get her to react again. Still, maybe this meant Lenalee had spoken to her too and by the red on her cheeks...Oh boy, he could get in a lot of trouble Bookman couldn't he? Like more trouble than he ever got. Bookmen had no need for their hearts, but they had them anyway. Bookman could expect him to be completely heartless...though he had been close when he had told everything about Verinty...Still...That had been his job and though no one ever asked him to do such a thing again, he doubted that he'd want to. He'd have to though. He really didn't have a choice.

"So I'm guessing that she did talk to you" Lavi said after another moment of silence. "She talked to me on a mission...I'm just lucky Bookman wasn't there..." He sighed. She looked at him then, her eyes focused on him.

"Why are you talking to me?" she spat. She looked angry and he smiled, almost looking sheepish though he was very pleased with himself. He had gotten her to talk to him. This had been his goal all along and he was glad he was able to reach it.

"Because I want you to talk back" he answered. The smile didn't go away. She glared at him and then he frowned. "C'mon Veri, you can't hate me that much, can you?" he asked softly. His eye softened as well. He wanted to tell her that he was sorry but he couldn't. He wasn't sorry for doing his job. He wasn't sorry for betraying her. He was only sorry that she had to be there and had to hear him talk about her like she wasn't there.

"I hate you more than I can say" She turned her face away from him there, snubbing him. He sighed and then went on to talk to her anyway. He told her how Lenalee was doing and how Komui had destroyed half of HQ with his robot. She didn't smile at the comical tale. She sat there, looking anywhere but him. He told her other tales but then, his stomach grumbled lately. He laughed and rubbed his stomach.

"Guess it's time for lunch. Are you hungry Veri?" Now she looked at him her nostrils flaring with frustration. She didn't say anything though. He made himself some lunch. He made a little for her and brought it over to her. He wished he could untie her, but knew she was dangerous. He tried to get her to eat but she wouldn't. She did try to bite him at one point and he pulled his hand away at the right moment, reflexes fast, thanks to Bookman. He sighed looking at her. Then he sat by hey while she glared. He carefully moved some of her hair out of her face. She didn't take another snap at him but she did glare.

He went on with his day. He couldn't leave the camp, but he made sure to get some more firewood from nearby. A few times he heard something walking around in the woods. Verinty looked wary of it so he moved closer to her and figured it wasn't akuma. He ended up sleeping within kicking distance of her legs that night. He didn't want her to be alone though near the edge of the trees with something in the woods. He wanted to protect her though that was a rather senseless thing to want since she wanted him dead. He knew he was being senseless but he couldn't help it with her. He still cared, though he had spent the last year thinking of ways to forget her. He cared for her. He wanted her to know that, but he doubted that she did. He couldn't say the words though...that would be awkward for him to say.

The next day he got ready, made some food and tried to make her eat. He at least got her to drink some water. It had been too long since she had eaten and he could see she wasn't sleeping well to boot. She was going to get sick soon if she didn't eat or take care of herself.

Lavi didn't want to think it, but he did anyway. He was worried about her. He was worried that she wasn't well. He didn't have anything he could give her if she did become ill. He bit his lip. He didn't want to wait another day and let her get even weaker. He had to do something now. So armed with food he went to sit by her again. He just sat there. He didn't try to eat, but he was hoping she'd break and eat if she could smell it and it was close to her. She glared at him, but she didn't eat.

It was day two and he figured that David and Allen had to be at least close to getting to the town, if they weren't already there. He hoped they'd be returning soon, but he knew he wasn't going to make Verinty hold out another two days. It already had been five days and she wouldn't eat anything and when he could get her to drink anything, she drank very little. She had to get sick sometime, she was so tiny.

"Veri..." he muttered and she looked at him, her mismatched eyes touching on his good eye. She didn't say anything though. She just looked at him as if she would like to rip his throat out. He bet she would, but he didn't want to say that out loud. If she ever got loose, she might take it up as an offer.

Finally he stood and he paced away from her, leaving the food by her. She wouldn't be able to reach it though. He wished she would just stop being the way she was and act like her old self again. Finally, he got tired of bottling all of these...emotions for her inside. He spun around and sat right next to her. He grabbed her shoulders and she looked at him, anger in her eyes.

"Verinty, I can't say I'm sorry for telling your story, for betraying you, but I can say I'm sorry that you had to hear it. I'm sorry that you were there to listen and I'm sorry that I had to do it. I'm a Bookman, what else could you expect of me? I want you to know that I'm sorry though Verinty, more than anything – I'm sorry I hurt you, I'm sorry you hate me. I still care about you Verinty...You're still my best friend"

She looked at him, her face no longer angry, but...there was something else in it that told him she wasn't happy. Suddenly, tears were running down her face and she turned her face away from him, trying not to let him see her cry. He sat there, his fingers still touching her shoulders but barely. They were shaking. What he had said, had finally got a reaction out her. He thought it would be better at this point if it didn't.

"V...Veriny"

"G...Go away!" she yelled at him, she kicked at him and missed. He used one hand to hold down her leg and the other hand to touch her shoulder again. He tried to get her to look at him, but she wouldn't. She kept her face turned. He didn't know what caused her emotional outburst. Maybe her emotions had been building and this was how they exploded from her.

"Verinty." He muttered softly and his fingers touched her face lightly. Now she looked at him, her eyes wide. "It's alright"

"Leave me alone" She moved her face away from his fingers. He sighed.

"Verinty, I'm not going to leave you alone when you're like this" He told her. He couldn't just leave her to be sad as she was. He had to comfort her somewhat. He had to do something. He was the one who made her cry after all and he hated to see pretty girls cry. He hated even more to be the cause of it.

"If you want to help me, you'll leave me alone!" she told him, suddenly turning to glare at him. He frowned at her but took that moment to lean forward and lay her head against his shoulder and wrap his arms around his as much as he was able.

"You don't understand Verinty, I can't do nothing for you" He felt her shaking, but she finally gave up and buried her head in his shoulder and cried. He didn't want to make her cry, he had wanted her to understand how he felt. He guess they had both been denying things. He was glad she was there though, he was glad that he was with her again. He closed his eye, stroking her hair back form her face. He wanted to calm her down, then maybe they could talk.

In the end, he was leaning against the tree, her head in the crook of his neck and then they fell asleep like that. Her hands were tied to her side, and yet his one had had her's. It was no different from when she had her nightmares and needed her to stay the night with him. He didn't think of it any differently. When he woke up, the morning sun was just touching is face, bothering his eye. He opened it and then rubbed it before looking at Verinty who was starting to wake up because of the sun as well. He found the knot that tied her up and gave it a good tug, setting her free. They had not been tight bonds, they didn't want her to loose circulation or anything, but they had not allowed her to escape for five days. It was the sixth day and he was letting her go. Let her kill him if that was what she really wanted. He wouldn't just let her do it, he would try and fight her off – hopefully win – but he wouldn't kill her.

Instead she yawned then laid her head on his lap and returned to sleep.

He was so shocked by her actions that he could only look down at her. He decided that if she wanted to sleep, he would let her. He leaned back against the tree she had been tied too and gazed at the trees around him. He hadn't really been watching for the boy and he wondered when Allen and David would be back. By the next day hopefully. Would they be mad that Verinty was loose? Probably. He would have to tell her to run and pretend to be knocked out or something. He didn't want to lie to his friends, but he didn't want Verinty to get hurt.

It was about another hour before Verinty woke up and looked at him. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before standing and stretching. She rubbed her arms as if they hurt. He stood too. He waited for something to happen. Verinty sat down by the tiny fire that was still going, tossed another log on it and watched it. She looked up at him, she was frowning.

"I'm too weak" she said.

He looked at her a long moment, not understanding what she was telling him.

"I'm too weak to use my power. I'm defenseless against you" She looked at the fire again. "I spent too many days fighting you. I'm strong enough to move around, but too weak to use my power."

"Then you should leave Verinty" He said then. If she couldn't use her power, than she could easily be over-powered.

"I don't want to" she answered, leaning back a little. "You know...you could take me back to the Order. I could scream, but if I'm tied up, what good will that do me? It took me three days to recover from screaming last time"

"Verinty, I won't take you back there" He said, sitting on the other side of the fire."

"You're too soft to be a Bookman" she muttered but he heard her.

"Yeah, I'm too soft with you" He said with a sigh. "I don't think Bookman would take you back though. I think he wouldn't have let you go either. Oh...I don't know what that old panda would have done, but what I did was right." He smiled at her. She didn't smile back. Instead she stood and walked to sit by him.

"I missed you Lavi. I missed you and hated you at the same time. Every time I would miss you, every time my heart missed a beat because I accidentally thought of you, I hated you more. I tried to forget you, but that didn't work and I thought the only thing to set things to rest would be to kill you." Her eyes rested on his wounded shoulder. "I hated you Lavi – I think a part of me still does – but I missed you more than anything. Those people there aren't my friends. They're family though...I belong with them"

"No you don't" Lavi said, touching her shoulder so she'd look up at him. "You don't belong with them Verinty – your mother was an Exorcist"

"And my father was a Noah!" she snapped.

"Maybe you belong somewhere in between?"

"I don't know. I think...Road knows who my father is" She said then. "She won't tell me though. She told me that he's dead though"

"I'm sorry" He said and he was. He thought that maybe her meeting her father would help her. He opened his arms for her and she hugged him tightly. It was like the old times. Something had changed overnight. He wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing. Suddenly there was an alarmed cry and Allen was there. Lavi manged to use his hammer to block Allen's hand from grabbing Verinty. She ducked down in his arms.

"Lavi?" Allen questioned, looking at him funny. David was further back, running to catch up to Allen.

"She's okay" He said sternly.

"You shouldn't have untied her Lavi" Allen said, his eyes focused on Verinty, who was giving Allen the oddest look. "We don't know if we can trust her" He didn't back down yet but Verinty stood and looked at Allen. He tensed, but put his arm back to his side.

"Do I know you?" she asked. She looked at him as if she should know him.

"No...we never met before"

"Are you sure?" She asked. Lavi looked at her funny.

"Verinty, do you know Allen somehow?"

"I...I don't know" She touched her head, as if she was feeling dizzy. He stood up straight, putting his hammer away. And then right before she collapsed, he was able to catch her.

* * *

So short...and it took me so long to get it out D: I'm so sorry everyone! College has been rough and finals are coming up! I've been busy and stuff, but I at least got this out. I'm working frantically on my fanfics when I get time! Again, sorry that I have been so slow D:


	15. Loving Memory

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Loving Memory**

"_It worked" her voice was surprised, hand on her stomach where a tiny foot just kicked. "I'm...pregnant" Her voice was shocked, beyond belief now as if she couldn't believe what her own body was telling her._

"_Rebecca, this means you have to leave the Order – now" A male's voice this time. A hand on her shoulder. It was firm, but friendly. "If they find out who's child you're carrying, they'll kill you as a traitor."_

"_But this child...this child could save us all!" Her hands on her stomach. Protective of the child within._

"_Rebecca, listen to him. This is for the child. Your child...my child" There wasn't exactly love in this other man's voice – but there was something protective of it. Protective of the child? Protective of the mother? Of both?_

"_I will...but...Where will I go?"_

"_You can't go anywhere really" The first man told her. "I'll help you out, find you safe spots with close friends of mine. You're going to have to always be on the move, teach your child to always be on the move"_

"_They're going to come for the child. Since the child is mine, there is no doubts that it'll be...special. It might take a few years, but this child will be special..." _

"_Of course our baby will be. Will you be able to come with me?"_

"_No. If I come, the Earl will find you for sure. I'm sure once he finds out that you're an exorcist and yet you carry my child...he'll want the child. I can't allow that to happen. He can't take this child from you Rebecca – he can't take it from us!" _

"_But...what will happen to you?"_

"_I'll keep going. I'll come for you when I can Rebecca" He kissed her forehead. He placed one hand on her stomach, over her hand that lingered there. He sighed. "Take care of our child. Let this child be the truth of matters"_

"_The truth?"_

"_Of course"_

"_I...don't understand...What do you mean?"_

"_You will...maybe the child will better..." His voice trailed off and there was an nearby explosion._

"_Get her out of here!" the second man shouted, probably at the first._

"_Wait! Wait! What's going to happen? What are you talking about? Truth? What Truth?" she was dragged off then, the other man holding her arm tightly as he ran. There was the sound of gun shots. It hurt her ears. She kept her eyes on the other man as he ran in another direction, his eyes turned to glance back at her, just a quick glance. His eyes were worried, but they hardened with resolve. She knew he was going to do what he could for her and the child. She would do what she could too...no matter what this truth was. She glanced at him again, her eyes wide._

_It was the last time she ever saw him._

Verinty woke up.

She was covered in sweat and the sun was nearly directly above her. It must have been near noon – she had been out for a while. Her body felt weak and hunger cramped her stomach, making her feel dizzy for a long moment. Her mouth was dry and there was the taste of dust that she couldn't seem to remove from it. She was breathing though and that dream – had it been a dream? It seemed to be so much more – was still in her head. The voices had been so real and one woman had been called Rebecca, her mother's name. The voice had been of her mother's as well. She had not been able to see faces, but she knew movements, heard voices. There had been three people. Two men and her mother. One had...one had been her father. So now she knew his voice...But not his face.

Had it truly been his voice though? Had it really been her father? Had that dream been real? Or something comforting for her mind? Another question popped to her mind.

What truth did her father want her to realize?

Was there really a truth that she had to figure out?

She was a half-Noah, half-Exorcist, something that she was told never happened before. The Earl hadn't even known an Exorcist could carry a Noah's child. He was aware that her mother was carrying her – how could he not be? - but he had figured that her mother would lose her. She didn't though – Verinty was alive. She was strong, but at the moment she felt weak.

Carefully, she pushed herself up right. There was a hand helping her suddenly and she looked up to see Lavi smiling at her. She looked at him for a long moment and then he helped her sit the rest of the way up. A canteen of water was handed to her.

"Thought you might be thirsty"She took a big gulp of it. It help clear the taste out her mouth, but she nearly choked on it. It felt so good to drink something. Then she wanted to eat. She wasn't surprised to find semi-warm food handed to her. She ate it – maybe too quickly, but her stomach ached. She needed the food, she needed the water and then she needed to rest a little while. She would wait. She needed to talk to Lavi first. There was something she had to clear up with him. She had to talk to him about this. It was important.

She knew that something was brewing inside her and she had to spit it out but now was not the time. She had to wait. She also had to talk to Allen. Allen was...Allen was...She didn't know what he was but she knew him. She knew she knew him! He was someone...he was something. She wasn't sure. There was something she had to know about him. There was something she had to figure out. She couldn't stand not knowing the truth.

The truth.

Ironic that she was searching for it. A small chuckle left her lips and she didn't realize it until everyone looked at her. She looked at them. Lavi gave her a questioning stare and she sat the food down by her feet, content for now. She knew she couldn't eat too much else she would get sick. Starving and weakening herself for the last few days had not done her any good. She looked at the three men in the clearing.

"The truth" She said simply. "I find it funny. My name is deprived from the word verity, which means to show the truth, or to find the truth."

"Ah" Lavi said, as if he suddenly got something. "I always wondered what Verinty meant since the day I met you"

"My mother told me once when I was young and I didn't understand why she named me Verinty until now" She realized her dream-vision was important and there was something she should be seeking. She didn't know what it was, but she figured it would come to her sooner or later. There had to be a way to figure it out. She just didn't know how. She would find it though – she knew that was her purpose in life now.

But was it a true purpose? Was that why her mother named her Verinty? Was it so she would know to find the truth? What truth was it anyway? What truth was she supposed to find? Was it something about Akuma? Something about Noah? About Exorcists? What was this truth about?What was she supposed to find?

She pondered for a long moment. There had to be some clue and maybe her vision-dream had something to do with that. She tried to remember every little detail she could. Maybe there was someone else that could help her. She wished she could have seen their faces. She kind of remembered on face though.

"Red hair...and a mask...and some kind of...large...hat?" she muttered to herself. Allen seemed to be listening to her now. He looked at her.

"Red hair and a mask?" he asked. "Are...Are you talking about someone you know?" He asked.

"Someone...I had a dream about." she clarified. "I have no idea who they are. I never met them, but I have a feeling that I should" She said, a frown on her lips.

"You had a dream about him? What else do you remember about what he looked like?" Now he had fully turned to face her. Lavi was sitting by her yet, his one hand on the base of her back. It was almost as if he were holding her up. She didn't know if that was what he meant it to be or not.

"I didn't see him. I heard his voice though...He sounded like an adult. I have no idea how old he was though. He was old enough to be an adult...about nineteen years ago" She knew was only eighteen, but she didn't know how long her mother actually carried her. Might as well say nineteen years. She didn't want to guess too low or too high. She didn't want to have the wrong idea. She needed to figure out who this man was. She needed to speak to him and figure out if...if he knew anything about her mother and her father.

"Nineteen years?" Allen seemed to be thinking. His blue-gray eyes gazed towards the sky while Lavi's green eye focused on her. She looked at Lavi.

"What is it Lavi?" she asked.

"Oh...nothing" He said and then he stood walking away from her. "Going to get a bit more fire wood" He wandered off then and she sat, staring after him. She wondered why he left and was completely distracted from Allen for a moment.

"I think I might know who it is" Allen said, but he didn't sound pleased about knowing. "It...it might be my Master that you're looking for..." He really didn't sound pleased now. "He taught me to be an Exorcist. His name is Cross – General Cross"

"Cross" She repeated the name carefully, then she looked off towards where Lavi had went. "Why...did Lavi leave?"

"He was worried about you" The Finder they called David answered instead. "He stayed by you the whole time you were asleep." She felt the red on her cheeks then and she stood, wobbling a little. It felt like the blood was rushing to her head and she didn't like the feeling. She waited a moment for it to pass.

"I'm going to find him then"

"Why?" Allen's voice was suspicious.

"Me and Lavi have something we need to talk about...something we...really need to talk about" She was glad her natural tan kept the red on her cheeks from showing. Yes, she wanted to talk to him about that. She had been away from him for so long...she was unsure of her feelings for him. He had betrayed her – she hadn't exactly forgiven him yet. She still had to sort out her feelings and that included talking to him about it.

Though she really didn't want to talk to him about it in reality.

She just didn't want to talk about though, she didn't even want to go after him right now. She knew she had to talk to him alone though. That much she knew and understood. So, she headed out towards the woods without another word to Allen or David. She couldn't think about what she was doing, she just had to do it, else she would probably not do it. She might even just try and run away.

Not a good idea since she was still fairly weak.

The trees soon surrounded her, though she could hear David and Allen talking softly about her. She couldn't hear their exact words, but she knew it was her they spoke of. She stumbled through the woods, listening for Lavi. She heard him soon. _Step, step, step, stop...step, step, step, stop...step, step, pause..._

She came into a small clearing. He had paused to look up, hearing her coming over dead needles and leaves. She stood there, after carefully ducking under a fallen tree and looked at him. He looked back and they were silent for a long time. They didn't say anything and for a moment, Verinty almost thought there was nothing to say. Finally Lavi took in a deep breath.

"Hi" he said and it was so anticlimactic, that she smiled a little. Lavi mimicked her smile a little.

"I wanted to talk to you" she said. "But I...I don't know...well I'm not sure...I mean..." She could find the words she needed. She knew her role in the world now, but now she couldn't even use her voice. She needed to find the words, but they escaped her mind. She couldn't spit them out.

"It's about what Lenalee said isn't it?" He asked, right on the mark. Verinty nodded. "Oh, yeah, I knew it would be. I know you Veri." He leaned back against a tree with a charming grin. She found herself blushing for some reason, the red heavy on her tan cheeks.

"You say you know me – I've changed" She said, after clearing her throat. Lavi walked up to her and his fingers touched her cheek softly.

"No, I do know you. You're the same person as you were back then. You still hate me – but at the same time you don't. I confuse you, I always saw that in your eyes. You trust – well you trusted me. That much has changed. Still, you trust me enough to let me be so close, to let me touch you" he wasn't looking at her, but looking straight up at the tall branches of the trees. "I think actually...that you have changed – just not around me. When I'm around you, I feel like I'm the same kid I was when I met you. Not as distant, but still...playful, curious, looking for answers and keys to doors that I wasn't allowed to open"

He sighed and stepped away from her. She watched him carefully.

"There is one 'door' that a Bookman is not supposed to ever touch, to ever even look at. I...I have to admit, I've been coming close." He looked at her. "And it's because of you Verinty..." Another pause. "Bookman would gut me if he heard me saying all of this" He rubbed the back of his head and looked worried. He looked at her again, his green eye focused on her. "I care...about you Verinty. More than I should. I...I'm not even supposed to have a heart..." The last part was grumbled, but she heard it anyway.

"What are you saying, Lavi?" she asked him.

He moved to her and touched her face again. "How about I don't say anything?" His other hand was gentle on his shoulder and her mind panicked for a moment. She was undecided, but he apparently knew what he wanted.

_To hell with it! _ She thought _He's doing something he shouldn't – something that would probably get him in a ton of trouble with Bookman – and I'm worrying about silly little things. How can I be undecided anyway? I've had a year to think about this and I miss him. I miss Lavi..._

"I think I would like it better that way" She muttered right before his lips touched her. It was such a gentle, sweet kiss, and she was so caught up in this simple, sweet moment she almost missed the grind of metal against metal. Her fingers were already tangled in his shirt and she tightened them, pushing him away from her and then pushing him to the ground. The bullet struck her in the shoulder. She landed on the ground and her vision blurred for a moment. She heard Lavi saying her name. He cursed. She couldn't focus.

"Well, well, so you do care about him" She heard a voice and looked up. Road was sitting on the shoulder of a level two, while Tyki stood by it's side. He was playing with something that looked like a deck of cards. She couldn't see though, her vision was blurry. "I wonder if you can survive the virus. Full-blooded Noah can...but can you?" Her voice wasn't cruel, but it was curious. She seemed the most curious about what she was. It was as if...as if she knew something Verinty didn't.

"I...I can...s...surv...ive...this..." She whispered. She was aware that Lavi was holding onto her, his hands warm on her back. He was warm and alive but he wouldn't be that way if...if she died, they'd kill him. They'd kill him...The memory of his lips on her's, just a few moments ago, played in her mind. She was still weak, but she was stronger than a normal human. She could use her power, but only once probably. Only something small. She looked up at Road. She was smiling. Her vision wasn't so blurry anymore.

"Amazing." Road said, kicking her feet against the Akuma. "Verinty, you're amazing. A Noah half-breed and yet you can survive the virus of an Akuma" Her grin was wide now and slowly, Verinty got up. She kept Lavi behind her.

"Go Lavi. I'll handle them" She felt rather than saw or heard him take out his Innocence.

"I won't leave you here." He said to her.

"Go, please" she didn't turn to see him, but she felt him remain there. She knew he wouldn't leave her. She knew that before she asked. Why did she even bother then? She wasn't really sure, but she knew she had at least tried to get him out of there.

"Verinty, you were suppose to kill the Exorcists, destroy the Innocence and come back home" Tyki said, she could see he had a deck of cards in his hand. He put it into his pocket then, his eyes gazing at her evenly.

"Sorry, guess I'm running late" She replied, mocking in her voice. Tyki sighed and when he did that, her world tilted a little.

_He sighed, his eyes focusing on her blue ones. She was so stubborn, but she loved him. He knew that he needed her to love him, to have this level of commitment to him to get what he needed out of her. He didn't want to use her though. He didn't want to use any of them, but he had his own goals in mind. He had to achieve them, he had to get to his goals. He didn't have much of a choice at this point. He had made his choice years ago. With their deaths and that man's near death...well he had no other choice now._

"Ah..." She felt like something inside her was coming unhinged. She put one hand to her head, her body leaning, trying to right itself. She didn't know what was happening. What was happening to her?

_Her face looked to his and she smiled. She was happy to be around him and she was introducing him to her best friend, Erica that day. It was safe enough since her family knew of him and were loyal to him. They all knew what he was doing – just as she knew. She ignored some of the facts, but she thought that what she was doing was right. If the Order ever found out though...A worried look came upon her face, but she looked to him again, smiling._

She let out a scream. These were not her memories! What triggered them? Where did they come from? Why? Why? Who? Who did this to her? Why did they do this to her? Why was she born? How could she have been born? She was a freak, unnatural, half-evil, half-good...

Suddenly arms around her made her whole body sag. She felt arms around her, arms that would protect her – or restrain her. For a moment she struggled, but his voice came so soft and so strong to her ears. "It's okay, I got you"

"Lavi"

"You two are actually quite cute together. What do you think Tyki? Cute?" Road was speaking again. Verinty glanced up towards her. Tyki was looking at her now too. He shrugged at Road and then he looked at the two of them. Lavi was behind her, supporting her entire body weight. She was trying to get a grip on herself and the strength was slowly coming back to her knees.

"What do you two want?" She asked, as she stood on her own two feet again. Lavi's hand was on the back of her spin again – supporting her.

"To get you back and destroy the Innocence. It's as simple as that" Tyki replied. "The Earl has been very worried about you."

"You're his special little lamb" Road chirped. "His special lamb from a wolf disguised as a lamb."

"My...mother?"

"No, I'm talking about your father."

"My father? You...know about him...you know about my father!" She couldn't stop her voice from raising. She wanted answers – she wanted them _now_.

Road laughed at her. "Of course I know about him. I'm one of the few people that do"

"Road, that's enough" Tyki snapped. He seemed...irritable. Verinty, took a step back, bumping into Lavi. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be a way to keep them from hurting Lavi. Actually...They would probably kill Lavi if they got the chance.

"Tell me! Tell me what you know about my father!" She demanded. She wanted to know everything about her father. That was her whole goal in life.

"_No it's not"_

"Ah..." Shock came then. She heard a voice in her head – his voice. She blinked shocked. She felt like she did back when her Noah was trying to take over, but she wasn't letting it. It wasn't Noah though, it was...It was..?

"I can't tell you anything about him." Road said. "I'm not allowed." She didn't care about Road's words anymore.

"_Let me show you what you can do – the power I gave you"_ the voice in her head said to her _"Give me control. I promise, it'll be okay."_

She felt like she took a step back, let someone else take control of her body for a moment. She could still see, but she couldn't do. She saw the shock on Tyki and Road's faces. She blinked and everything was clearer, sharper. She knew without saying that Noah had overtaken her, but she wasn't scare of hurting Lavi. No, she knew that she was no threat to him. Her eyes may be golden, but she wasn't evil. She wasn't evil but she wasn't...

She moved, quickly and she knew again that it was surprising to Tyki and Road. She knew Lavi would have trouble following her with his human eyes. She kicked the legs out from under the Akuma and watched it fall. Road looked upset.

"You" she said, her tone threatening.

"_Good morning..._" It was her voice but not her voice. The tone was off, it wasn't her. That much was clear to everyone there. She watched their reactions, a small smile on her face. She looked...smug, she looked like she had just been caught doing something she shouldn't. It fit the moment though.

"Ah! Tyki!" Road's voice was alarmed now. "We have to take her back now!"

Tyki looked at her. She was on the ground now. She had jumped off the Akuma before she had even kicked it. Road was fast – strong. She was the oldest and the strongest. She had survived...Only because of her fake. If it wasn't for that, he would have destroyed her with the rest of them...

"No" She said out loud, her control coming back for just a moment. Those thoughts were not her's and she did not like them. She didn't want to _destroy_ anyone. She didn't want anyone to...No! These were not her thoughts! Who was so violent as to think them? The other swarmed back in and took a stronger hold on her body. She felt like she was being restrained now. She didn't like it and she wished she was strong enough to struggle.

"_We aren't going back to that place again_" Her body said, putting a hand on her hip. She moved, snatching a long stick from a tree and she was suddenly farther away from Tyki and Road. She was looking at them, watching their movements but her arm was moving, writing in the dirt. "_Now leave, or I'll read this – you won't like what it has to say_"

Road took a step back. She looked angry and then her face calmed. "C'mon Tyki." She turned away, the Akuma following her like a tamed dog. Tyki looked confused.

"Why are we leaving?" he asked. He seemed to want to say more but he stopped.

"We know where she is, we know she's alive and that she's betrayed us. I think the Earl needs to know another Noah left us" She turned her head to look back at Verinty, her golden eyes annoyed...and sad... "Like daughter, like father I suppose" Verinty's body smiled and waved, just moving her fingers as Road and Tyki walked away and disappeared into the forest. She watched until they were gone and then she closed her eyes. She knew her body collapsed, but she didn't have time to think about that.

_The room was pitch black and there were two trees in it. She was seated in front of the tree, hunched over as if she might be in pain. Her hair covered her face, a frown was on her lips. Her arms rested on her knees. He stood by the other tree, several feet away, face hidden by shadows. She knew this was the man she searched for and that he had chosen to contact her this way for a reason. But why not sooner? Why wait for so long after her birthday? The birthday that she received her "gift"?_

"_I couldn't show myself sooner...certain things had to happen before I could talk to you." He answered, picking the question out of her head. Her head snapped up to glare at him. Her eyes had reverted to normal and were once again mismatched._

"_Don't do that" she said. "Don't read my thoughts"_

"_I can't read your thoughts – I can only see what you're thinking about because I'm inside your head right now"_

"_Why are you here?"_

"_Because I can be"_

"_Are you really my father?"_

"_Yes...and no." he answered and he sighed, his chest heaving. "Noah...don't always stick to one body. When one body is killed, the memory goes to another. The body of your 'father' is dead – but the memory of his Noah is not. I'm just the memory your father left you. You've come in contact with the body that will or is the new host for his Noah."_

"_You're nothing but a memory? Then how come I can speak to you?"_

"_Well...I'm a special memory he made for you. He knew that he would be dying soon and he used some of his power to make me so you'd at least know that he cared about you"_

"_Did he care about me or this Truth I'm supposed to find?" She snapped, looking away from him. She heard him move towards her but she didn't look up to see his face even as he knelt in front of her and touched her tear-streaked face._

"_I do care about you. I wish I could have seen you when you were born. I never got to see Rebecca again. Once we separated that day...I was on the run for years and I stayed away from you and your mother because I was afraid the Earl would find you sooner." He sighed again, his breath brushing against her cheek. "But...you have to find the Truth out about things, yes. I wish...that you didn't have to and you could live a normal life. You found love, isn't that right?"_

"_How do you know?" She didn't look at him now because her cheeks turned red._

"_Whenever you feel scared you think of him and it calms you." She could hear the smile in his voice. "I just hope he is kind as you see him." She heard him stand. He took two steps away from her. "I'm running out of energy to maintain this memory so it's time for me to go."_

_She closed her eyes tightly. This was the only time she would ever be able to meet her father. She didn't regret it though. She was happy that she had met him – even if it was only a memory._

"_Before...I go...I want to know, what did Rebecca name you? She never told me what she would name you...only that it was a 'surprise'..." She opened her eyes and smiled slightly, looking at her father's feet._

"_My name is Verinty"_

_He chuckled. "From the word Verity...Rebecca was always one that believed names should mean something"_

_She heard him walking away again and she stood, looking at him. He turned half-way around to look at her, a smile on his face. She looked at him, shocked. He looked almost like Tyki, they could be twins if one didn't know better. He even smiled like Tyki. His golden eyes were warm for a moment and then they looked sad._

"_I'm happy...to...have met you Verinty" he whispered, but she heard him as clear as if he had shouted it. He was fading away, the memory was disappearing._

"_Thank you...father..." She closed her eyes and felt the tears dripping down her face slowly. She had finally met her father. She had finally figured out who he was and now...Now she had another mission. She had another mission she had to carry out._

"Verinty!" she felt someone shaking her. "Verinty!"

She opened her wet lashes. There were no tears on her face, but her eye lashes were wet as if she had just been crying. She looked up at Lavi. He was holding her tightly in his arms, holding her close. They were still in the clearing. She could hear footsteps coming towards them.

"Lavi..." She whispered his name and her fingers touched his face. She didn't want to think of the memory of her father, of anything. She wanted to forget everything and just think of what her and Lavi had been talking of before Road and Tyki showed up. So, she pulled his face to her's and kissed him. He pulled her even closer. She could taste fear on his lips. She had probably been out a little while.

She pulled away when Allen burst into the clearing, his Innocence activated.

"Lavi?" his voice was shocked. She clung to Lavi, not wanting to explain or talk about it yet.

"We were just coming back to camp" Lavi said. Then he stood, helping her up. He took her hand, just like old times, then the three of them walked back to camp. She was silent the entire way there, replaying everything she had learned that day in her head.

* * *

Ah, so I think by this point you all know who Verinty's father is. Did it surprise you? Or did you know all along? One more chapter and this story is over. There will be a One or two chapter Prequel to the story along with a Sequel. Don't expect either to show up very quickly. The Prequel will be about Rebecca Whispers, Verinty's mother. And the plus for this chapter~ You learned what Verinty's name meant! Yay~! Anyway, I hope you're all ready for the ending~ It's going to be interesting~!


	16. Goodbye

**Silence  
D Gray Man  
Goodbye**

It was dark that night, even with the fire burning. Verinty couldn't sleep. She sat in front of the fire, watching the embers that splashed up out of it. Lavi was laying down, his eye closed. Allen and David were asleep too. David had been standing guard but he had fallen asleep sitting up. She was the only one who was awake now. She was the one who was standing guard she supposed. She looked into the fire and closed her eyes lightly. She knew she wouldn't fall asleep anytime soon.

She thought of the memory of her father. He cared about her, but he was dead or...sort of dead, in a way. She had inherited Noah Genes though, which was odd in itself. She had her _Voice_. She was the Voice of Noah. That was why she had her power, her voice was her power. It was her knife, her shield and everything to her.

But that wasn't true was it?

Not anymore. Or maybe it hadn't been true to begin with. She wasn't sure anymore. She just knew that when she looked at Lavi, she realized that things weren't as easy as she had ever imagined them. Things had never been easy, they never would be. She had to take into account her life.

Since she learned to walk, she had been on the run with her mother. Sometimes they would stay with friends. Well, people her mother called friends but never seemed to know well. They didn't really talk except for her mother thanking them, shaking their hands and seeming like she was about to cry. She always looked so sad, so stressed. Verinty always just followed after her, listened to her. Her mother always gave her confusing instructions.

"Don't come until I call you"

"Don't move, it'll hear you. Sh.."

"Don't..."

"Don't..."

"Don't..."

Almost every instruction began with a 'don't'. Every instruction was one of caution. Her mother didn't want _them _to find of her. They did though and Verinty winced, she wished they hadn't. They had taught her control – but at what cost?

She looked towards Lavi, she could still see the white bandages under his clothing. She had hurt him, but then again she had wanted him to die for what he had done. She had wanted to kill him. She had wanted him dead. Had she really though? If she really wanted him dead, she would have killed him that day and she hadn't. She never wanted him dead.

Maybe she wanted her feeling for him to die instead?

Yes, that made more sense to Verinty. She had wanted her feelings, her ever present feelings for him, to die. Not him, she had never wanted him to die. The feelings had been annoying. When she had lived with the Noah, they had always been there, nagging at her. They were like a string through her heart, pulling at it, making her more rash sometimes. It made her angry back then, that these feelings for him were still there though he had betrayed her so cruelly.

She looked up at the sky above her and was content to let her mind wander some more when there was a sudden grunt and Lavi cried out softly in pain. She was by his side before he could sit up. She was there to help him up. A light sheen of sweat had beaded on his forehead, his visible eye still had some terror to it. She touched his good shoulder and his face turned, startled, to her. He looked at her for several seconds before shaking his head and brushing his gloved hand against his forehead.

"Nightmare..." He said, as if that would dispel the dream that had haunted him.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked. He shook his head no and rubbed his bad shoulder. "Does it hurt? Can I look at it?"

"Okay" he agreed easily and he shrugged off his shirt so she would have an easier time looking at it. She tried not to be distracted by the movement of him. She took a deep breath and unwrapped the wound. It was healing well, but it would leave an ugly scar on his shoulder.

Unless...

"Do you have any food?" she asked. He handed her some fruit that had been bought at the market, for quick energy. She ate it, hoping it would be able to reenforce her for what she was about to do. "Wait here, don't re-bandage or put your shirt back on. Wait" She stood and hurried off into the woods to where she had hidden her book. She had hidden it when she had spotted Lavi, afraid of him taking it from her. She returned to camp with it a moment later and Lavi appraised the book with interest.

"You still have it?" he asked, looking at the little book with it's worn cover, and pages that were scrawled with words. She flipped to a page that had some empty space and she took the pencil she kept in the book and started to write. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"Trying something I never did before" she answered. She was still weak, but she was sure it would be okay. She looked at her words, scrawled on the page. "_His wound was her work, but it would be healed by her words. The gash in his shoulder began to heal, close, skin layering over it, repairing the awful wound. When it was done healing, there was nothing left of it – not even a scar to show anyone it was there_"

She felt a huge drain in her energy, she suddenly felt like she hadn't slept in days nor had she eaten anything. Her mouth was dry and she felt like she was going to collapse. Lavi grabbed her and handed her the water canteen before working to find her more fruit.

He was clearly healed and he clearly knew that it had taken a lot out of her. She took a drink and ate the fruit that he gave her, leaning against him. Her chest was heaving. She felt like she was going to pass out. He made her look up at him, examining the look in her eyes.

"You shouldn't have done that" His voice wasn't mad, but there was worry in it. It was hidden though, pushed back. He hid so much, she wondered if he would always be that way with her. If he would never let down his guard and she decided it was better that way if he was...He wasn't supposed to feel for her at all.

"I'll...I'll be fine. I think" she manged to say to him, smiling lightly at him. He frowned down at her. She closed her eyes and leaned into his chest, hearing his heart beat. It picked up ever so slightly, only a quick and slight burst of speed, but then it went back to normal. "Lavi..."

"Yeah, Veri?"

"You always call me that"

"It sounds cute" he answered.

She rolled her eyes at him, but of course he couldn't see that since her head was against his chest. She sighed then, happy to be where she was. She had spent so much time, so much energy, hating Lavi but now she was just happy that she was with him. She clung to his shirt, thinking to what she was going to say to him, before he had distracted her by calling her Veri.

"Lavi..." She started again.

He looked down at her, but this time didn't say anything. He waited for her to go on, knowing whatever she had to say, it was important. She waited a moment herself, to gather the words, think about them before she actually said them.

"I've known...for a long time that I care about you." She said, now not looking at him. She couldn't look at him, not while she said this. She couldn't say these things while looking him in the eye. "I know now, that I care about you much more than I thought I did. Lavi...you mean so much to me but...I'm going to have to leave. I can't stay with you Lavi"

"I know that" he said. His voice was controlled. She knew he was doing that thing where he hid his emotions. Where he pretended that he wasn't attached to her because he was a Bookman. It strangely bothered her.

"Can...Can you not do that?" She asked, her voice soft.

"What?"

"That emotionless thing...that thing where you act like you don't care. It bothers me, a lot..." She admitted to him. He looked at her a long moment and he sighed.

"It's easier on me when I do" He told her, but his fingers brushed some of her hair from her face, he was trying to comfort her. He was trying to show her that no matter how he hid his emotions, he cared for her. "It's a natural reaction..."

"One I wish you didn't have. That's the only thing that I hate about you being a Bookman" She closed her mismatched eyes.

"Still, I know you can't stay with me...I know you'll have to leave. One thing I can't figure out though is...Where are you going to go?"

"Away. I have no where I can go. I can't go back to the Order – They'd kill me at this point. I can't go back to the Noah...They know by now that I have betrayed them. There is no way that they'd ever take me back. I'll go into hiding, like my father..."

"Your father...Did you ever find out what happened to him?" Lavi, of course, knew she did. He just wanted to see if she would tell him. She waited another moment, unsure if she wanted to tell him, but he already knew most everything else so he might as well.

"Yes. He's dead"

"Alot of good hiding did for him then" his voice was disapproving. He was clearly afraid of her having the same fate.

"I'll be fine Lavi..." Then she told him everything that had happened, her conversations with her dad. Well, her dad's memory, the one that had been able to talk to her, to tell her that her father was dead, but not dead. Finally she described what he looked like to Lavi. He looked thoughtful the entire time she spoke and didn't interrupt. When she was done, they sat in silence, in the dark. The only light was the fire and it crackled lightly, as if trying to break the silence between them.

She closed her eyes, feeling the tears in them. She was scared, but she didn't want to tell Lavi that. She felt the tears there, but she held them back. She held back the sobs, the fear, the tears and the thought that maybe she didn't have to leave alone. She couldn't do that to Lavi. She would ruin everything for him if she asked him to go with her. He had to go back to the Order. He couldn't...he never could come with her. She could never ask that of him. Not now, not ten years from now, not even one hundred years from now. It was just a simple fact that she had to face – and accept.

"Verinty?"

"I'll miss you" she said, her voice shaky. She didn't let it break though, didn't let it crack.

"We have a little while Veri...You need to get your strength back" She knew he was just trying to calm her, but she knew she had very little time left to be with Lavi, to stay where she wanted to be. She had to leave, soon.

"Of course we do" She agreed though to keep Lavi calm. They were silent again, Lavi was looking up. At the stars maybe? Then his arms tightened around her, comforting as they always had been.

"Go to sleep Veri. I'll keep watch now" He said. His voice was careful and under control. She nodded – the only thing she could do – and snuggled against him. She was sure he was thinking of things she rather him not think of, but there was nothing she could do about it. So...She would simply accept that and try to get some sleep.

When the morning came, she was still wrapped up in Lavi's arms and she felt safe for the long moment that she stayed there. She felt safe when she was with Lavi, safe and good. She sighed and pushed herself out of his arms. He woke up when she did and Allen, who was awake, looked towards them.

"Good morning, Verinty, Lavi" He said, his voice soft. She looked over at Allen.

"Good morning Allen" David was still sleeping. Verinty felt stronger though. She felt like she could use her power again and everything would be alright. But...She wanted to know that Lavi was going back to the Order before she left. That would mean she would have to help him. This would underline her betrayal. She would never have a place with the Noah again.

She couldn't go back to the Exorcists either though. She really did have to disappear. She looked at Lavi who was rubbing his good eye. He then yawned and stretched his arms out. He looked at Verinty and smiled. She smiled back.

"Morning everyone" He said simply. Verinty started to comb out her hair with her fingers while Lavi got a drink and something to eat. Allen was sitting by the ashes of the fire and eating something.

"When will you guys go back to the Order?" Verinty asked, keeping her voice curious. They looked at her, and then at each other.

"When we get the Innocence." She had been afraid of that answer. She took her little black book out and looked at it. Lavi's fingers touched her's. "What are you going to do Verinty?"

"I'll help you guys find the Innocence so you can all go home" she replied. She wanted them to get out of there.

"Do you want me to leave?" Lavi's question had Allen freezing, the air tensing and a clammy sweat breaking out on Verinty's palms. Did she want him to leave? Of course she did, so that the Noah couldn't hurt him. Of course she wanted him safe. Did she really want him to leave though? No, she was too dependent on him now. She _needed_ him to live, to function. She had found a way before though and she would find away again. She was powerful. She knew she could live without him, no matter how much she didn't want to.

She looked down though, feeling her chest constrict. It was hard to breathe.

"No. I don't" she answered. "But I understand that it's better if you do. You can't stay with me"

Lavi was silent and Allen was still for a long time. No one moved or spoke. Verinty knew that her words may have hurt Lavi or he was thinking hard about them. She was too scared to look. She heard him stand up, he walked by her, grabbing her arm. He dragged her up and along. She walked with her head down, as if she still could not look at him, not after she said maybe-hurtful-words.

He didn't go far into the trees, only far enough that Allen would not be able to see them. If they spoke too loudly, he would be able to hear them though. Lavi spun to look at her, she heard the leaves shift underneath him, but she still did not look up at him.

"Verinty" He said, his voice low. "I know we talked about this last night, but I don't think it's a good idea for you to leave alone. Your father died because of that."

"I have to Lavi." she said, her voice low as well. "I can't stay with you...you have to become a Bookman and tell everyone what happened to me. You have to tell others my story. Maybe once they know that a Noah and a Exorcist can be in love..."

"Veri...You got mad last time I told everyone your story"

Now she looked at him, a sudden fire burning in her eyes. "Lavi, you have to tell people! You have to tell as many as you can! Tell people who I was, how I came to be, about both my parents, about _everything_. I'm gifted by my father, but I was also gifted by my mother." She said, her voice rising a little with the passion of her words. "Noah want to kill Exorcists on sight, but not me. I can stand here, hold your hands, be close to you and feel nothing negative towards you. I'll never be one or the other Lavi. I'll always be _both_."

Lavi bowed his head this time and then pressed his forehead against her's, holding her fingers in his. He was silent, eye closed. She waited for him to open his eye and look at her. Then he did, a sad smile on his lips.

"But how can I tell your whole story if this is the last time I'll ever see you?" he asked, his voice gentle, not filled with sadness, but with...something else. She couldn't name it.

"This isn't the last time Lavi, never the last time. I just might not see you for a while. I'll always be looking for a way to come back to see you Lavi, always" Now his hands touched the side of her face, tips of his fingers trembling ever so slightly. "I...I love you Lavi. I've been afraid to admit it, but I think it needs to be said"

He stood there, his hands on the side of her face, just looking into her eyes for a long moment. She wondered if she shouldn't have said that but he chuckled, his emerald green eye closing for just a second. He shook his head and then opened his eye again, a smile on his lips.

"I bet I knew that before you did" he said. Then he pulled her face closer to his and he kissed her. The kiss was tender and sweet and she wished she would never have to leave him, but she knew that it was the only way for them both to find their meaning in life. Besides, he would survive longer...hopefully...if he stayed an Exorcist. She knew his job was dangerous but she had to hope for the best for him...She had to hope.

She broke away from the kiss, her head ducking down, out of his hands to rest against his chest. She felt like she could hold the sobs back there. Not the tears though, they ran down her face anyway, even as she tried to blink them away.

"Are you crying?" he asked, his cheek was resting against the top of her head, his arms holding her close.

"A little" She admitted.

"I'll miss you Veri. You have to find me again soon so I can make sure you're alright" It surprised her that he was just letting go but like her, he must have realized there really was no choice in this matter. Her fate was decided before she was even born.

"I'll miss you too Lavi, more than anything else"

"More than Jerry's cooking?" She laughed despite herself.

"More than Jerry's cooking" Then he lifted her face to his and kissed her again, putting more passion into this kiss. She could tell her felt the same way about her from it and this was a moment she knew she had to treasure forever. He could never say the words, but he didn't have to speak to tell her things. They could stay in silence and always know.

He was the one to back away this time. He took in a deep breath and pushed some of her hair out of her face and gave her another sad smile. "We'll find a way. We're both neutral ground"

"No Lavi, I have to make the Neutral ground. I'm stuck between good and not-so-good. They're not evil, not like everyone thinks. Someday, they'll see that and everything...everything will be so much better."

"Well when you make that neutral ground, invite me alright?" He took her hand then, his hand warm, and they walked back to camp. Allen was waiting for them and when he saw their hands, he seemed to relaxed. "Worried?" Lavi teased.

"A little. She is a Noah"

"Half-Noah" She corrected him. "I'm half Exorcist too" Allen nodded, but didn't look convinced. He actually looked worried.

"You have to leave though...You're not going back with us but you're not going back to them. You're running away. You can't run forever." He muttered something else to himself but Verinty couldn't catch it. "You might...need help. My master, General Cross, the one I told you about yesterday...I think if you could find him..."

"I was going to make it my goal to find General Cross" she said. "He knew my father and mother and helped my mother while she was on the run. If I find him, I find a way to run like my mother did. She was successful for sixteen years...and by sixteen years I should have this figured out..." She sighed, she had a long journey ahead of her. She barely knew what she was looking for, only that she was looking for it. He might know what she was looking for too.

"Veri..." Lavi's voice was nearly that of a pouting child. She ignored him and glanced around the camp. She noticed Dave was no longer sleeping, but not in the camp. Allen must have seen her looking for him because he smiled slightly and answered without her asking.

"He went to get fire wood – opposite the way you and Lavi were talking." It seemed he trusted her more than she thought or he thought Lavi could handle himself. "Lavi I noticed your arm seems better..."

"Veri healed it for me" He said and moved his shirt so Allen could see that the gash was no longer there. Allen looked troubled by this turn of events – that she was stronger than he probably thought – and then rearranged his face into a smile.

"That was nice of her"

"I'm also going to bring the Innocence out for you. I wasted so much of your time. It's the least I can do" She got out her black book again and stood, stepping away from the two young men. She looked down at the book. "_The Innocence was nearby, it was called by its opposite, to the are of the camp. The girl, the not-so-human girl, was there and the Innocence knew that she was it's foe. She called to the Innocence and soon it would find her. It would arrive in the camp, only to find when it arrived that the girl was not it's enemy, but a friend of the people who had Innocence of their own-_" She didn't get any further because the wolf was back and it tackled Verinty to the ground, throwing her book out of her hand. The boy was on it's back, the necklace around his neck glowing.

"Stop!" Lavi cried and Allen rose too. The wolf growled at her, showing its fangs.

"It worked" She said with a smile. The wolf growled again, but the boy climbed off and patted the wolf's side.

"Easy Sasha" He said to it as if it was a horse. He looked at Verinty then. "Who are you?"

"Verinty Whispers. You need to go with these men here" She said, motioning to Lavi and Allen.

"No!" the boy cried, clinging to the wolf. "I can't leave her behind!"

Lavi looked at Verinty and she smiled. "I can tell that the wolf is a part of Innocence, but the wolf is really only an illusion. The real Innocence is in his necklace." She pointed to the pendent around his neck.

"Ah...so he's needs to come back with us"

"Yes"

The little boy had climbed back onto the wolf by this point and they were about to take off when Verinty grabbed the wolf by it's tail. It yelped as if it were a real wolf and suddenly disappeared, spilling the boy to the ground.

Allen caught his shoulder before he could get up and run. "Marcus" He said, his voice very serious. "You need to come back with us. The wolf can come with us"

"She's not a wolf!" the boy cried. "She's my mama" Then there were tears running from the boy's eyes. "She's my mother! My new one because my real mother abandoned me!"

Verinty looked at Lavi before kneeling down by the boy and Allen. She motioned for Allen to keep a hold of the boy, just in case. She didn't want to let him run away. Not after she expended the energy to summon him here. Allen gave her a questioning look, but she smiled at him, trying to let him know she had an idea of what to say to the little boy...Marcus.

"Marcus...you're mother didn't abandon you" She said softly. The boy looked at her angrily, tears still in his eyes. His tiny hands wiped at them.

"Yes she did! She left me! She left me with my aunt! She never came back inside!"

"That's because your mother died Marcus. Your mother...left, but not on purpose..." She frowned. The boy looked at her. "My mother died too...She left me..."

"Your mama abandoned you too?"

"Yeah...mine too. But, they didn't abandon us Marcus. They had to leave..."

"But she'll never be back so I hate her! I hate my mom for leaving me" The tears got thick again and Verinty stroked some of his hair back from his face.

"You can't hate your mother. She doesn't hate you"

He was silent. "I miss...I miss her" He sobbed and now Verinty pulled the boy out of Allen's arms and into her's. He clung to her and cried. "Sash...Sasha is all I have now" Verinty rubbed his tiny back comfortingly.

"Sh...Sh...It's alright. I understand, but if you go with these guys, you'll find a new family." she said. "It'll be hard at first because you're gonna have to learn a lot, but you'll make lots of friends and soon...it'll be like you have your own family"

"R-Really?"

"Of course" She motioned for Lavi to hand her the black book she always carried around, keeping one hand on the boy in case he would try to run again, but she doubted that he would. She scribbled in it, with her free hand as Lavi held it for her. Then she took the book and read the small sentence she had written.

"_And so the child went to sleep. He would awake hours later when they were on their way out of the forest and nearly to the village._" The boy slumped against her and his gentle snoring could be heard. She handed him to David carefully and then stood again. She looked at Lavi. "You have the Innocence. Go home" She ordered.

Lavi looked at her for a long moment. "...I won't see you for a long while will I?" He asked. His fingers touched her's, holding both of her hands in his.

"Probably not." She answered. He pressed his forehead against her's again and they both closed their eyes, silent for a long moment. Finally Lavi sighed and moved his head away from her's.

"Be careful Verinty and if anything should go wrong..."

"Nothing will" She said. She pulled one hand away from his. "Don't worry Lavi, nothing's going to go wrong." She took a step back, away from, keeping his one hand in her's.

"Verinty...if anything _does_ go wrong...You know you can come to me. I'll protect you." She smiled and shook her head at him.

"You can't protect me forever Lavi" She said softly and she stepped closer to him, kissing him gently before letting go of him and backing up a few steps. "I'll see you again. I promise"

She turned and walked away and when she was far enough away that they could barely see each other she turned around again and observed them. She saw Allen putting out the fire, Lavi helping gather their things while David packed them away. Marcus lay on the ground sleeping, as he would for a long time. She watched them, with soft eyes.

Allen looked up at her, just looked. She looked back at him and suddenly he wasn't Allen anymore. It was her father standing there, smiling at her. She put a hand to her head and shook her head fiercely. It was then Allen again. She turned away from them, her thoughts crowded.

She was leaving behind the one person she was attached to and now she was going to find the answers that her father wanted her to find. She smiled to herself, hope filling her. She looked up to the clear sky, to the sun and to beyond. Then she walked away, leaving only silence behind her.

* * *

This is the end of Silence. Yes, this is the last chapter. I know it wasn't the best one out there, but there will be a sequel ( someday ) and please look out for the Prequel which should be out within a week or two if work is light. Thank you for reading Silence and supporting this story. I look forward to your reviews, comments and for you guys to read both the prequel and sequel!


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